. 



■ 



^LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. J 

| [SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT.] | 

| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. | 
m 



rrfjrOSCZjLMM-^ 







Jfinsih $Uabing. 



TRAITS AND ANECDOTES 



BIRDS AND FISHES 



ILLUSTRATING 



THEIR NATURAL HISTORY, HABITS, AND INSTINCTS. 



EDITED 



BY REV. D.*W. CLARK, D. D. 



64f$. 



(fthuhuuti: 

PUBLISHED BY SWORMSTEDT & TOE, 

FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AT THE WESTERN BOOK 
CONCERN, CORNER OK MAIN AND EIGHTH STREETS. 

R. T. THOMPSON, PRINTER. 

18 5 6. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, 
BY SWORMSTEDT & POE, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern Dis- 
trict of Ohio. 



&L5o 



FIRESIDE READING. 



tittit %nittu 



SOME eight or ten years since, the editor of this series 
suggested to the then Book Agent at New York the 
propriety and usefulness of attempting to supply, in some 
measure, at least, a sort of general literature for fireside 
reading. His idea was that it should be "secular," as 
distinguished from strictly "religious," designed to inter- 
est and instruct all classes of general readers, but espe- 
cially adapted to the young. The suggestion was received 
with favor, and the editor was urged to bear the subject 
in mind in his miscellaneous reading, and to prepare 
such a work. From that time forward, he has been mak- 
ing a note of such matter, as it chanced to come up be- 
fore him, though not with any distinct notion of publish- 
ing. His attention having been lately directed again to 
the subject, and the publication seeming to be called for, 
he has revised and retrenched his material, and now pre- 
sents the result in a series of five volumes, under the 
general title of " Fireside Reading." Each volume, so 
far as the subject-matter and mode of treatment are con- 
cerned, is entirely independent in itself; and may, there- 
fore, bo purchased b}^ itself, or the whole series together, 
at the option of the purchaser. 

The labor of preparing the work for publication has 
been considerable, much more than the editor imagined 
it would be, or he would scarcely have undertaken it 

3 



4 GENERAL PREFACE. 

amidst the laborious duties to which he was already sub- 
ject. But having undertaken it, he has spared neither 
labor nor pains to make it what it should be — a repos- 
itory of interesting and useful knowledge. 

The subjects of the volumes are "Travel and Adven- 
ture," " Historical Sketches," " Traits and Anecdotes of 
Animals," " Traits and Anecdotes of Birds, Fishes, and 
Eeptiles," and " True Tales for the Spare Hour." 

The sources whence the materials for the volumes 
have been drawn, are too numerous to be especially 
indicated in every instance. The more prominent of 
them, however, are, "Library of Entertaining Knowl- 
edge," London, 39 vols.; "Lardner's Cyclopedia," Lon- 
don, 131 vols.; " Naturalist's Library," Edinburgh, 31 
vols.; " Chambers's Miscellany of Useful and Entertaining 
Tracts," Edinburgh, 10 vols.; "Chambers's Papers for 
the People," Edinburgh, 12 vols.; Mrs. Lee's Works on 
the Habits and Instincts of Animals, Birds, Fishes, etc., 
London, 2 vols.; " The Modern Traveler," London, 33 
vols.; together with several of the juvenile publications 
of Nelson & Sons, of London and Edinburgh. This 
series will reveal to the American reader but little more 
than glimpses of the rich stores of interesting and useful 
knowledge contained in the above works. 

We are not trenching upon the peculiar sphere of the 
Sunday school publishing department, whose mission is 
the production of a religious literature for the young of 
the Church and the nation. But outside of this sphere, 
we are endeavoring to supply a want largely felt by par- 
ents, who wish to cultivate in the minds of their chil- 
dren a taste for reading and literature. 

We bespeak, then, a place by the fireside in every 
family, for these little volumes. They will, at the same 
time, be pleasant companions and useful instructors. 

The Editor. 



ANECDOTES OF BIRDS AND FISHES. 



| X t f a t t. 

npHE basis of this volume was Mrs. Lee's inter- 
esting work on the "Habits and Instincts of 
Birds," etc.; but, in preparing his materials, the 
editor has referred not only to the original sources 
whence that work was mainly drawn, but also to 
several additional and valuable works — rich in ma- 
terial, but too voluminous for popular use. Our 
acknowledgment of indebtedness to these works 
has already been made in the "General Preface," 
and, therefore, need not be repeated here. 

Had the editor attempted a full enumeration of 
all known birds and fishes of each class, he would 
have been compelled to limit his remarks to a 
mere technical description of each, or to enlarge 
his work to huge dimensions. In either case the 

work would not have been adapted to popular read- 

5 



6 PREFACE. 

ing. He has, therefore, taken only those subjects 
most interesting in their character, and thus ob- 
tained space for such interesting anecdotal and 
historical illustrations as will interest the general 
reader. If he shall succeed in stimulating a 
thirst for knowledge in these departments of nat- 
ural history, and, at the same time, a taste for 
reading, his object will have been in part at- 
tained. We say "in part;" for all study of nat- 
ural history, unless it leads to the unvailing of 
the wisdom and goodness of G-od, is without ade- 
quate object or end, 



€ttti : tti%. 



PART I. 

©tattjj artfc ginztlsotts of HSirfc*. 

SECTION I. BIRDS OF PREY. 

Page. 

1. The Eagle 11 

2. The Vulture— Condor 35 

3. The Falcon 59 

4. Hawks, Kites 65 

5. The Serpent-Eater 76 

6. The Butcher Bird 81 

7. The Owl — Nocturnal Birds of Pret 84 

SECTION II. INSESSORIAL, OR PERCHING BIRDS. 

1. The Nightingale 98 

2. The Bobin, or Bobin-Bedbreast 104 

3. The Mocking Bird 112 

4. The Wren 116 

5. Swallows 121 

6. The Lark 128 

7. The Sparrow 135 

8. The Goldfinch 189 

9. The Canary 143 

10. Crows, Bavens, Books, Jackdaws 146 

11. The Magpie 164 

12. The Bird of Paradise 168 

13. The IIumming-Bird 1T1 

SECTION III. CLIMBERS. 

1. Woodpeckers 170 

2. The Cuckoo IS I 

S. The Parrot 190 

7 



8 CONTENTS. 

SECTION IV. GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 

Pass. 

1. The Turkey 202 

2. Guinea Fowls 210 

3. Partridges 213 

4. Pigeons, Doves 216 

SECTION V. WADERS, OR SHORE BIRDS. 

1. The Ostrich 223 

2. The Crane 229 

3. The Herron 232 

4. The Stork 237 



SECTION VI. WEB-FOOTED, OR AQUATIC 

1. Penguins 245 

2. Petrels 247 

3. The Albatross 250 

4. Gulls 253 

5. Pelicans 257 

6. Cormorants 261 

7. Guillemots 264 

8. Swans 267 

9. Geese 271 

10. Ducks 276 



PART II. 
©latis aitfo %nti butts jo£ jFtstue*. 

1. The Cod 287 

2. The Haddock 290 

3. The Hake , 291 

4. The Mackerel 292 

5. Herring 294 

6. The Salmon 298 

7. The Pike 303 

8. The Halibut 309 

9. Eels 310 

10. The Sturgeon 314 

11. The Shark 319 

12. The Whale 340 

13. The Sword-Fish , 358 

14. Electrical Pishes 361 

15. Flying Eish 364 

16. Curiosities about Fish 367 



PART I. 

%xkIU anb %ntt)tttUs at §irbs. 



FIRESIDE READING 



SECTION I. 

BIRDS OF PREY 
(eaptores.) 



I. 
%\t tfaglt. 

(aquila.) 

BIRDS are placed next to quadrupeds in the 
scale of creation; and foremost among 
them for strength, daring, and power, are those 
called birds of prey, which live exclusively on 
flesh. Of these some feed by day, others by 
night; but formidable as they are, with their 
rapid flight, their size, their strong beak and 
talons, and their piercing sight, they are not 
to be compared with what are called beasts of 
prey, in the ravages which they commit. Many 
of them are useful to man ; and yet, paradox- 
ical as it may seem, their submission to man's 

power, and their proofs of attachment to the 

U 



12 FIRESIDE READING. 

human race, are of much rarer occurrence, 
than among the denizens of the plain and 
forest. 

First among birds of prey, is placed the 
eagle. It is not improbable that similar soli- 
tary habits in the lion and the eagle, together 
"with their magnitude and their strength, have 
given origin to the titles of king of the beasts 
and king of the birds, current all over the 
world. "The eagle," says Jonston, "chal- 
lengeth the first place, not that it is the best 
dish at table, for none will eat it, but because 
it is the king of the birds."* The ancient 
Greeks used the same term, as we find Pindar 
talking of " the great eagle, the chief magistrate 
of the birds, "f Josephus, the Jewish historian, 
also says the eagle was selected for the Roman 
legionary standards, because he is "the king 
of all the birds and the most powerful of them 
all, whence he has become the emblem of em- 
pire and the omen of victory;" J and this con- 
clusion is singularly enforced by Aldrovand, 
who tells us that the eagle "challenges dragons 
to battle and fights with them; attacks bulls 
and slays them;" adding the anticlimax that 



* Miracles of Nature, Englished by a Person of Quality, p. 167, 
fol. Lon., 1657. 
|Ode vi, Isthmior. J Josephus, De Bello Judico, iii, 5. 



THE EAGLE. 13 

" he overcomes leverets ; tears foxes, and feeds 
upon snakes."* 

M Caius Marius," says Pliny, a in his second 
consulship, ordained that the legions of Roman 
soldiers only should have the eagle for their 
standard, and no other ensign ; for beforetime 
the eagle marched foremost indeed, but in a 
ranke of four others, to wit, of wolves, mino- 
taurs, horses, and boars, which were borne each 
one before their own several squadrons and 
companies. Not many years past, the standard 
of the eagle alone began to be advanced into 
the field to battle, and the rest of the ensigns 
were left behind in the camp ; but Marius re- 
jected them altogether, and had no use of them 
at all. And ever since this is observed ordina- 
rily, that there was no standing camp or leaguer 
wintered at any time without a pair of eagle 
standards, "f 

Josephus and Pliny, however, were wrong if 
they thought the ensign of the eagle peculiar to 
the Romans ; for the golden eagle, with ex- 
tended wings, was borne by the Persian mon- 
archal from whom it is probable the Romans 
adopted it, as it was subsequently adopted from 
them by Napoleon and the United States ; 



a Ornithologia, i, 10. t Holland's ttinie, \. I 

| Xouopbon, (Snmiedia. vii. 



14 FIRESIDE READING. 

while the Persians themselves may have bor- 
rowed the symbol from the ancient Assyrians, 
in whose banners it waved till Babylon was con- 
quered by Cyrus. This may serve to explain 
why the expanded eagle is so frequently alluded 
to in the prophetical books of Scriptures.* Re- 
ferring, for example, to the king of Babylon, 
Hosea says, " He shall come as an eagle ;"f 
and Ezekiel describes Nebuchadnezzar as " a 
great eagle, with great wings, long-winged, full 
of feathers which had divers colors ;" and the 
king of Egypt as " another great eagle, with 
great wings and many feathers. "J It was, no 
doubt, on the same account, that the eagle was 
assigned in the ancient mythologies as the bird 
of Jove, a notion which Lucian, with his usual 
satire, ridicules without mercy, making Momus 
tell Jupiter he may think himself well off if 
it do not take a fancy to build a nest on his 
head. 

The eagle is in the air what lions and tigers 
are on the earth — indiscriminate robbers and 
butchers, killing and devouring every thing they 
can live upon, if impelled by hunger. Their 
piercing sight is evident to all who look at their 
brilliant eyes, protected by an overhanging 



Taxton, Illustr. of Script., ii, 13. f Hosea viii, 1. 

JEzek. xvii, 3-7 ; and La Roque, Voyage. 



THE EAGLE. 15 

brow. When at rest, they are calm and dig- 
nified ; but the quick glance of those eyes leads 
to the constant expectation that they will sud- 
denly burst into irresistible fury ; and their 
powerful, hooked beak, and strong, sharp tal- 
ons, show that escape from them is almost hope- 
less. They chiefly feed on living prey, but 
have no objection to a little carrion, if con- 
venient. They usually slaughter their victims 
with exulting cries, and sometimes carry them 
living to their nests, where they tear them to 
pieces before the eyes of their young, as if they 
were teaching them the best way of carving 
their food. 

The golden eagle is one of the largest and 
noblest of all those birds that have received the 
name of eagle. The length of the female is 
three feet and a half; the extent of its wings, 
eight and a half; it weighs from sixteen to 
eighteen pounds.* Its bill is three inches long, 
and of a deep blue ; and the eye of a very 
brilliant hazel color. The sight and sense of 
smelling are very acute. The head and neck 
are clothed with narrow, sharp-pointed feathers, 
of a deep brown color, bordered with tawny ; 
but those on the crown of the head, in very old 



• Among the birds of prey the female is generally larger thau 
the male. 



16 FIRESIDE READING. 

birds, turn gray. The whole body, above as 
well as beneath, is of a dark brown; and the 
feathers of the back are finely clouded with a 
deeper shade of the same. The wings when 
clothed reach to the end of the tail. The quill- 
feathers are of a chocolate color, the shafts 
white. The tail is of a deep brown, irregularly 
barred and blotched with an obscure ash color, 
and usually white at the roots of the feathers. 
The legs are yellow, short, and very strong, 
being three inches in circumference, and feath- 
ered to the very feet. The toes are covered 
with large scales, and armed with the most 
formidable claws, the middle of which are two 
inches long. 

In the rear of this terrible bird follow the 
sea eagle, the osprey, the common eagle, the 
bald eagle, the white eagle, the rough-footed 
eagle, the crowned eagle, etc. These, and 
others that might be added, from different 
shades in this fierce family; but have all the 
same rapacity, the same general form, the same 
habits, and the same manner of bringing up 
their young. 

With respect to the eagle, which is the most 
celebrated from the remotest antiquity for in- 
structing its young, we are told by Moses, that 
she " stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her 
young, spreadeth abroad her wings, and taketh 



THE EAGLE. 17 

them and beareth them on her wings."* Aris- 
totle adds, that the young are not permitted to 
leave the nest prematurely, and if they make 
the attempt, their parents beat them with their 
wings and tear them with their claws. f Be 
this as it may, we are assured that eagles will 
feed their young for a considerable period, if the 
latter are disabled from flying by clipping their 
wings ; and it is recorded that a countryman 
once obtained a comfortable subsistence for his 
family out of an eagle's nest, by clipping the 
wings of the eaglets and tying them so as to 
increase their cries, a plan which was found to 
stimulate the exertions of the old birds in 
bringing prey to the nest. It was of course 
necessary for him to make his visits when the 
old birds were absent, otherwise he might have 
been made to pay dearly for his plunder. Af- 
ter instructing their young in flying and hunt- 
ing, the parent eagles, like other birds of prey, 
drive them from their territory, though not, we 
believe, as Aristotle says, from the nest. Bon- 
net says, " The eagle instructs its young in 
flying, but does not, like the stork, prolong 
their education, for it mercilessly drive's them 
away before they are thoroughly taught, and 
forces them to provide for their own wants. All 

c Deuteronomy xxxii, 11. | Hist. Anini., ix. 88. 

2 p 



18 FIRESIDE READING. 

the tyrants of the air act in the same manner, 
yet though this seems cruel and shocking, 
when we consider their close relationship, it 
takes a different aspect, when we consider the 
kind of life led by those voracious birds. Des- 
tined to subsist by rapine and carnage, they 
would soon produce a famine among their race 
did many of them dwell in the same district: 
for which reason, they hasten to drive away 
their young at a certain age from their bounda- 
ries, and then, if a scarcity of provision occur, 
the male and female put one another to death."* 
The poet Thomson, without going quite so far 
as this, gives a very good account of the cir- 
cumstance. 

"High from the summit of a craggy cliff 
Hung o'er the deep, such as amazing frowns 
On utmost Kilda's shore, whose lonely race 
Resign the setting sun to Indian worlds, 
The royal eagle draws his vigorous young, 
Strong-pounced, and ardent with paternal fire. 
Now fit to raise a kingdom of their own, 
He drives them from his fort, the tow'ring seat, 
For ages, of his empire ; which in peace 
Unstain'd he holds, while many a league to sea 
He wings his course and preys in distant isles." 

An imperial eagle has been known to go out 
with those hunting hares, and snatch the hare 
from them when only three or four hundred 

c Contempl. de la Nature, vi, note 5. 



THE EAGLE. 19 

paces in advance of the pursuers ; and many 
other stories evince their courage. Instances 
are given of their taking away infants, which 
have been doubted ; but we do not see, if they 
are left exposed, why they should not be cap- 
tured, as well as fawns, lambs, and pigs. It is 
an old story; nevertheless, it passes for a fact, 
and is told by Martin, in his Description of the 
Western Islands of Scotland, of an incident 
which happened to "a native of the Isle of 
Skye, called Neil, who, when an infant, was 
left by his mother in the field, not far from the 
houses on the north side of Loch Portrie, and 
an eagle came and carried him away in his 
talons, as far as the south side of the Loch, and 
there laid him on the ground. Some people 
that were herding sheep there perceived him, 
and, hearing the infant cry, ran immediately to 
his rescue, and, by good providence, found him 
unhurt by the eagle, and carried him home to 
his mother." 

An instance is recorded in Scotland of two 
children being carried off by eagles : but for- 
tunately they received no hurt by the way ; and, 
the eagles being pursued, the children were re- 
stored unhurt out of the nests to the affrighted 
parents. 

It happened some time ago in the same coun- 
try, that a peasant resolved to rob the nest o'( 



20 FIRESIDE READING. 

an eagle, that had built in a small island, in the 
beautiful lake of Killarney. He accordingly 
stripped and swam in upon the island, while 
the old ones were away; and, robbing the nest 
of its young, he was preparing to swim back, 
with the eaglets tied in a string ; but, while he 
was yet up to his chin in water, the old eagles 
returned, and, missing their young, quickly fell 
upon the plunderer, and, in spite of all his 
resistance, dispatched him with their beaks and 
talons. 

The nest of the eagle is usually built in the 
most inaccessible cliff of the rock, and often 
shielded from the weather by some jutting crag 
that hangs over it. Sometimes, however, it is 
wholly exposed to the winds, as well sideways 
as above ; for the nest is flat, though built with 
great labor. It is said that the same nest 
serves the eagle during life; and indeed the 
pains bestowed in forming it, seems to argue as 
much. It is asserted, that as soon as the young 
ones are somewhat grown, the mother kills the 
most feeble or the most voracious. If this hap- 
pens, it must proceed only from the necessities 
of the parent, who is incapable of providing for 
their support, and is content to sacrifice a part 
to the welfare of the majority. After a male 
and female have paired, they remain together 
for life, and never change their place of abode. 



THE EAGLE. 21 

Several instances have been recorded of chil- 
dren being seized and carried off by eagles to 
their young. In the year 3737, in Norway, a 
boy somewhat more than two years old was run- 
ning from the house to his parents, who were at 
work in the fields at no great distance, when an 
eagle pounced upon and flew off with him in 
their sight. It was with inexpressible grief and 
anguish that they beheld their child dragged 
away, but their screams and efforts were in vain. 

We are told that in the year 1827, as two 
boys, the one seven and the other five years old, 
were amusing themselves in a field, in the state 
of New York, in trying to reap during the time 
their parents were at dinner, a large eagle came 
sailing over them, and with a swoop attempted 
to seize the oldest, but luckily missed him. The 
bird, not at all dismayed, sat on the ground at 
a short distance, and in a few moments repeated 
the attempt. The bold little fellow defended 
himself with the sickle in his hand, and when 
the bird rushed upon him, he struck it. The 
sickle entered under the left wing, went through 
the ribs, and penetrating the liver, instantly 
proved fatal. 

A gentleman visiting a friend's house in Scot- 
land, went to see a nest which had been occu- 
pied by eagles several summers. There was a 
stone near it, upon which, when there were 



22 FIRESIDE READING. 

young ones, there were always to be found 
grouse, partridges, ducks, and other game, be- 
sides kids, fawns, and lambs. As these birds 
kept such an excellent storehouse, the owner 
said that he was in the habit, when he had un- 
expected company, of sending his servants to 
see what his neighbors, the eagles, had to spare, 
and they scarcely ever returned without some 
dainty dishes for the table ; when the servants 
took away any quantity of provisions from the 
store larder, the eagles lost no time in bringing 
new supplies. 

As some gentlemen were once hunting in 
Ireland, a large eagle suddenly descended and 
seized their terrier. This being observed by 
some of the party, they encouraged the dog, 
who, turning on the eagle as it continued to soar 
within a few feet of the ground, brought it down 
by seizing its wing, and held it fast till the gen- 
tlemen secured it. 

Sir H. Davy gives the following instance: "I 
once saw a very interesting sight, above one of 
the crags of Ben Nevis as I was going in pur- 
suit of game. Two parent eagles were teaching 
their offspring — two young birds — the maneu- 
vers of flight. They began by rising to the top 
of a mountain in the eye of the sun; it was 
about midday, and bright for this climate. 
They at first made small circles, and the small 



THE EAGLE. 23 

birds imitated them; they then paused on their 
wings, waiting till they had made their first 
flight. They then took a second and. larger 
gyration, always rising toward the sun, and 
enlarging their circle of flight, so as to make 
a gradually-ascending spiral. The young ones 
followed, apparently flying better as they 
mounted; and they continued this sublime ex- 
ercise, always rising, till they were mere points 
in the air, and the young ones were lost, and 
afterward the parents to our aching sight." 

Not long since, a man in Connecticut shot 
an eagle of the largest kind. The bird fell to 
the ground, and being only wounded, the man 
carried him home alive. He took good care of 
him, and he soon got quite well. He became 
quite attached to the place where he was taken 
care of, and though he was permitted to go at 
large, and often flew away to a considerable dis- 
tance, he would always come back again. 

He used to take his station in the door-yard 
in the front of the house, and if any well- 
dressed person came through the yard to the 
house, the eagle would sit still and make no ob- 
jections; but if a ragged person came into the 
yard, he would fly at him, seize his clothes with 
one claw, hold on to the grass with the other, 
and thus make him prisoner. 

Often was the proprietor of the house called 



24 FIRESIDE READING. 

upon to release persons that had been thus 
seized by the eagle. It is a curious fact that 
he never attacked ragged people going to the 
house the back way. It was only when they 
attempted to enter through the front door that 
he assailed them. He had some other curious 
habits; he did not go out every day to get 
breakfast, dinner, and supper; his custom was 
about once a week to make a hearty meal, and 
that was sufficient for six days. His most com- 
mon food was the king-bird, of which he would 
catch sometimes ten in the course of a few 
hours, and these would suffice for his weekly 
repast. 

Eagles are found in most parts of the world, 
especially in mountainous countries ; and all 
savage nations regard them as the type of 
strength, courage, and majesty; adorn them- 
selves with their feathers, and call their bravest 
men by their name. 

The sea eagle is found in the northern re- 
gions of both continents, even to the very mar- 
gin of the polar ice, and in Asia as far to the 
south as the Caspian Sea. Fishing is its regu- 
lar means of subsistence, but, on occasion, it 
will pick up dead fish on the beach, and attack 
seals and land animals. "Few exhibitions in 
nature," says the author of the British Natural- 
ist, " are finer than the fishing of this powerful 



THE EAGLE. 25 

bird. Not adapted for walking into the shallow 
water for prey like the heron, the sea eagle 
courses over the surface. From her unapproach- 
able haunt in the trees or the crags — the latter 
is, when she can obtain it, her most admired 
residence — she darts forth with the straightness 
and fleetness of an arrow, and as she glides 
high in the air, scanning the expanse of miles 
with her clear and unerring vision, one or two 
motions of her wings are sufficient to elevate 
her almost above the reach of human eyes, or 
bring her down close to the surface of the 
water. When her prey appears within her 
reach, she pauses not an instant, but raising 
her broad wings upward against the air, and 
thus taking advantage of the elasticity of both, 
shoots down as if discharged from a bow or an 
air-gun, makes the cliff echo to her chirrup, and 
dashes upon the water with the same thunder 
and spray as if a lightning-rent fragment had 
been precipitated from the hight. For an in- 
stant the column of spray conceals her, but she 
soon ascends, bearing the prey in her talons, 
and brief space elapses before she is lost in the 
distance." 

The bald eagle is common to both conti- 
nents, and occasionally met with from a very 
high northern latitude, to the borders of the 
torrid zone, but chiefly in the vicinity of the 96S 



26 FIRESIDE READING. 

and along the shores and cliffs of our lakes, and 
large rivers. Formed by nature for braving the 
severest cold ; feeding equally upon the produce 
of the sea and of the land ; possessing powers 
of flight capable of outstripping even the tem- 
pests themselves; unawed by any thing but 
man ; and from the ethereal hights to which he 
soars, looking abroad, at one glance, on an im- 
measurable expanse of forests, fields, lakes, and 
ocean deep below him, he appears indifferent to 
the little localities of change of seasons ; as in 
a few minutes he can pass from summer to 
winter, from the lower to the higher regions of 
the atmosphere, the abode of eternal cold ; and 
thence descend at will to the torrid or the arctic 
regions of the earth. He is therefore found at 
all seasons in the countries he inhabits, but pre- 
fers such places as have been mentioned above, 
from the great partiality he has for fish. 

In procuring these he displays, in a very sin- 
gular manner, the genius and energy of his char- 
acter, which is fierce, contemplative, daring, and 
tyrannical; attributes not exerted but on par- 
ticular occasions; but when put forth, over- 
powering all opposition. Elevated on the high, 
dead limb of some gigantic tree, that commands 
a wide view of the neighboring shore and ocean, 
he seems calmly to contemplate the motions of 
the various feathered tribes that pursue their 



THE EAGLE. 27 

busy avocations below: the snow-white gulls 
slowly winnowing the air; the busy tring&j 
coursing along the sands; trains of ducks 
streaming over the surface ; silent and watch- 
ful cranes intent and wading ; clamorous crows, 
and all the winged multitudes that subsist by 
the bounty of this vast liquid magazine of na- 
ture. High over all these hovers one, whose 
action instantly arrests all his attention. By 
his wide curvature of wing, and sudden suspen- 
sion in air, he knows him to be the fish-hatvJc, 
settling over some devoted victim of the deep. 
His eye kindles at the sight, and balancing 
himself with half-opened wings, on the branch, 
he watches the result. Down, rapid as an ar- 
row from heaven, descends the distant object of 
his attention, the roar of its wings reaching the 
ear as it disappears in the deep, making the 
surges foam around. At this moment the eager 
looks of the eagle are all ardor, and leveling 
his neck for flight, he sees the fish-hawk once 
more emerge, struggling with his prey, and 
mounting in the air, with screams of exultation. 
These are the signals for our hero, who, launch- 
ing into the air, instantly gives chase; soon gains 
on the fish-hawk ; each exerts himself to the ut- 
most to mount above the other, displaying in 
these rencounters the most elegant and sublime 
evolutions. The unincumbered eagle rapidly 



28 FIRESIDE READING. 

advances, and is just on the point of reaching 
his opponent, when, with a sudden scream, prob- 
ably of despair and honest execration, the latter 
drops his fish : the eagle, poising himself for a 
moment, as if to take a more certain aim, de- 
scends like a whirlwind, snatches it in his grasp 
ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill-gotten 
booty silently away to the woods. 

Among the few instances of eagles being 
trained for hunting, the best examples are fur- 
nished by the Tartars, who teach the royal or 
imperial eagle to catch foxes, antelopes, and 
even wolves. There are some instances of at- 
tachment formed by these birds toward the hu- 
man race; but they are not of frequent occur- 
rence. A gentleman residing near Belfast, 
England, had one of the above species, which 
had been taken when quite young from the nest, 
and had become not only quite tame, but even 
attached itself to its master. When allowed to 
be at liberty, it did not offer to go away, was 
fond of being caressed, and returned the mo- 
ment it was called, if it had gone to any dis- 
tance. It does not, however, always require to 
be taken young, in order to be domesticated, 
for in an interesting book on birds, written by 
Dr. Stanley, we read of a large, golden eagle 
which had reached maturity when it was secured, 
and remained firmly attached to the place where 



THE EAGLE. 29 

it lived, though always left perfectly at liberty. 
The only precaution used was to cut its wings 
when first caught ; but, when they grew again, 
the operation was not repeated ; and it then 
often absented itself for a fortnight or three 
weeks at a time, and faithfully returned* It 
generally perched, in preference, on a large ap- 
ple-tree, and chiefly ate crows, which were shot 
for it; for though it often attempted to procure 
these birds itself, they turned too rapidly, and 
were too agile for it, till at last it gave up the 
attempt, and only sat and eyed them wistfully 
when they flew over its head. When not prop- 
erly supplied with food, it seized upon young 
pigs. It never molested children, but once at- 
tacked its master violently, because he had not 
brought it the food it had been accustomed to 
receive from his hand. After ten or twelve 
years of domesticated life, it was killed by a 
ferocious mastiff. It must have been a long 
battle, and well fought on both sides, for the 
dog was so badly wounded that it died almost 
immediately afterward. 

It is worthy of remark, that in those coun- 
tries which are also frequented by vultures, 
these birds will wait for their repast while the 
eagles are making theirs, nor attempt to fall 
upon it till the eagles have done, just as the in- 
ferior species do for the king of the vultures. 



30 FIRESIDE READING. 

The formidable harpy eagle is a native of 
South America, and is remarkable for having a 
beautiful crest, formed of the feathers at the 
back of the head and neck, which it erects or 
depresses at pleasure. It is the most powerful 
of all eagles, frequents the thickets and forests, 
and attacks men and monkeys. Captain Flin- 
ders, when ashore once in New South Wales, 
with some of his officers, observed two eagles, 
probably of this species, one of which darted 
toward them as if to pounce upon them, but 
suddenly checked itself. He explained this by 
supposing, that the bird, unaccustomed to see 
men like themselves, supposed them to be a 
party of kangaroos on their hind legs ; for they 
are accustomed to kill and devour these animals. 

There is a well-known story of a weasel, 
which had been caught by an eagle, so ably 
contriving to bite his antagonist while in the 
air, that the eagle fell from loss of blood, and 
released its victim. It has not, however, been 
so often recorded, that a cat and an eagle had a 
battle which lasted some minutes, puss strug- 
gling so violently, and yet clinging on with her 
claws, that the progress of the bird was impe- 
ded, and it descended to the ground, where the 
fight continued till some persons, who watched 
them, secured both combatants. 

An eagle had been caught in a vermin trap, 



THE EAGLE. 31 

had drawn the peg by which the trap was 
fastened to the ground, and had flown away 
with it. Nothing was known for some weeks of 
eagle or trap, till one day a gentleman seeing 
some strange object hanging from the branch 
of a tree, went to examine what it was, and 
found the poor bird hanging by its leg, which 
was firmly held by the trap. The chain and 
peg had got fixed among the branches, and the 
poor eagle had died miserably from starvation 
in this position suspended by the foot. Eagles 
are very fond of martens and wild cats ; and a 
tame eagle killed all the cats in the neighbor- 
hood, sitting quietly, and as if unheedingly, till 
the animal was within reach of the place where 
it was chained; then, planting one foot firmly 
on the loins, and the other on the throat, noth- 
ing more would be seen of it except the skin 
quite empty, and turned inside out. 

Mr. St. John, from whom we have derived 
the two last anecdotes, also relates an adven- 
ture of his own in these words : "On a very 
dark morning, I sallied out with Malcolm, to 
take a shot at the eagles, and at last I was on- 
sconced in a hiding-place — near the dead body 
of a sheep — which gave me hardly room to 
stand, sit, or lie. It was still scarcely gray 
dawn, when a bird with a slow. Happing flight 
passed, and alighted out of sight, but near, for 



32 FIRESIDE READING. 

I heard him strike the ground, and my heart 
beat faster. What was my disappointment, 
when his low, crowing croak, announced a 
raven! he hopped and walked suspiciously 
round the sheep, till, supposing the coast clear, 
he hopped upon the carcass, and began with his 
cut and thrust beak to dig at the meat. An- 
other raven soon joined him, and then two 
more, who, after a kind of parley, were admit- 
ted to their share of the banquet. They sud- 
denly set up a croak of alarm, stopped feeding, 
and all turned their knowing eyes in one direc- 
tion. At that moment I heard a sharp scream, 
but very distant. The black party heard it too, 
and instantly darted off, alighting again at a 
little distance. Next came a rushing noise, and 
the monarch of the clouds lighted at once on 
the sheep. He quietly folded up his wings, 
and throwing back his magnificent head, looked 
round at the ravens, as if wondering at their 
impudence in approaching his breakfast; they 
kept a respectful silence, and hopped further 
away. The royal bird then turned his head in 
my direction; his bright eye that instant catch- 
ing mine, as it glanced along the barrel of my 
gun. He rose, I drew the trigger, and he fell, 
quite dead, six yards from the sheep. As one 
eagle is always followed by a second, I remained 
quiet, in hopes that his mate was not within 



THE EAGLE. 33 

hearing of my shot. I had not waited many 
minutes when I saw the other eagle skimming 
low over the brow of the hill toward me. She 
did not alight at once, but her eye catching the 
dead body of her mate, she wheeled up into the 
air. I thought she was lost to me, when pres- 
ently I heard her wings brush close over my 
head, and she wheeled round and round the 
dead bird, turning her head downward to make 
out what had happened. At times she stooped 
so low that I could see the sparkle of her eye, 
and hear her low, complaining cry. I watched 
the time when she turned up her wing toward 
me, and fired, and dropped her actually on the 
body of the other. She rose to her feet, and 
stood gazing at me with a reproachful look, and 
would have done battle, but death was busy with 
her, and as I was loading in haste she reeled, 
and fell perfectly dead." 

It is well known that the eagle will often de- 
scend from great hights, and with inconceivable 
velocity, to seize its prey. The line of its de- 
scent has given rise to a curious mathematical 
problem. It is thus introduced by M'Cosh: 

"At the time when it was disputed whether 
Newton or Leibnitz was the inventor of that 
calculus which has opened the way to such 
splendid results in various departments of sci- 
ence, John Bernouilli addressed a letter to the 



34 FIRESIDE READING. 

most distinguished mathematicians of Europe, 
challenging them to solve two difficult problems, 
one of which was to determine the line through 
which a falling body would fall most swiftly. 
Both of the distinguished men referred to — and 
also M. de L'Hopital — were able to solve the 
problem, and declared the line of swiftest de- 
scent to be not a straight line, but a particular 
curve, called a cycloid. Now, it is believed that 
it is by this very swoop that the eagle descends 
upon its prey. The instinct of the bird has 
solved this mysterious mathematical problem 
which puzzled the genius of a Newton. The 
question may be well asked, who taught the 
birds of the air the line of swiftest descent, the 
discovery of which was believed to test the 
highest mathematical skill ? Marvelous are the 
works of God." 



IT. 

rpHE vulturidas have universally been looked 
X upon with a kind of disgust. Ungraceful 
in form, of loose and ill-kept plumage, and, ex- 
cept when satisfying the cravings of hunger, or 
during the season of incubation, of sluggish and 
inactive manners, they present nothing at- 
tractive; while carrion being generally men- 
tioned as their common food, associations have 
been created of the most loathsome character. 
They are diurnal birds of prey ; and, while they 
are the feathered savages of the earth, and 
great consumers of putrid flesh, are sometimes 
of remarkable beauty, and, when not gorged 
with food, present an appearance of great maj- 
esty. Almost all have their head and neck 
destitute of feathers; and with many the naked 
skin is variously and highly colored, and 
adorned with fleshy developments called ca- 
runcles. 

It is a much disputed point among naturalists, 
whether vultures discover their prey l>v scent or 

85 



36 FIRESIDE READING. 

sight. The ancients believed that the former 
guided them, and many moderns — among whom 
is Mr. Waterton, one of the finest experimental 
naturalists — agree with them. Mr. Audubon 
was the first to throw any doubt on this subject, 
and that in consequence of his own observa- 
tions. Anatomy does not settle the question, 
as the organs of both senses are highly and 
equally developed ; and, therefore, when a still 
more recent and equally-accurate observer, Mr. 
Gosse, asserts that hearing, sight, and smell, are 
all brought into action in discerning their prey, 
we can not but feel inclined to adopt his hy- 
pothesis. 

In illustration of each argument, we now give 
some anecdotes which will support the different 
theories. A poor German emigrant, who lived 
alone in a detached cottage, rose from his bed 
after two days' confinement from fever, and 
purchased some fresh meat to make himself 
a little soup. Before he could do more than 
prepare his vegetables, and put his meat in 
water, the paroxysm of fever returned ; and 
quite overcome by it, he was forced to return to 
bed. Two days elapsed in a state of helpless- 
ness and inanition, by which time the mass of 
meat had putrefied. The stench became very 
offensive in the neighborhood, and vulture after 
vulture was observed to descend to the cottage 



THE VULTURE — CONDOR. 37 

of the German, and to sweep round, as if they 
had tracked some putrid carcass, but failed to 
find exactly where it was. This led the neigh- 
bors to apprehend that the poor man lay dead 
in his cottage, as no one had seen him during 
the last two days. His door was broken open ; 
he was in a state of helpless feebleness, and the 
room was insufferably offensive from some putrid 
substance which could not immediately be found ; 
for the fever having deprived the German of his 
wits, he had no recollection of his uncooked 
mess. At last the pot-lid was lifted, and the 
cause of the insupportable stench discovered. 
The sense of smell alone could have directed the 
vultures on this occasion. 

A curious circumstance is related in Gosse's 
Birds of Jamaica, which illustrates the subject. 
The poultry-yard of the barracks of St. An- 
drews had been repeatedly robbed, and on the 
night of January the 20th, 1840, the dogs be- 
longing to the barracks flew upon a man, who 
was going along the road, so vehemently, that 
the soldiers lodged him in the guard-house. 
Two days after his apprehension on suspicion, 
and when he was about to be discharged for 
want of sufficient evidence, the major belonging 
to the barracks " observed some carrion vultures 
hovering about a spot in the fields, and on sending 
to sec what was the matter, a Kilmarnock cap. 



38 FIRESIDE READING. 

containing a dead fowl and some eggs, tied up 
in a pair of old trowsers, was found near the^ 
spot where the prisoner was caught;" and as 
the clothes were proved to be his, the vulture 
was, in this case, decidedly the means of the 
crime being brought home to him. 

An instance of the exercise of sight is sup- 
plied by Mr. Gosse, in his own person, As he 
lay perfectly still, in a shallow pool or brook, 
when bathing, a vulture marked him, and 
swooped down upon him, till its wings fan- 
ned his body; evidently supposing him to be 
drowned, and a fair prey. On coming close to 
him, the motion of his eyes, which followed its 
course, probably hindered it from alighting. 

The lammer-geyer of the Alps is nearly allied 
to the vultures, and it is supposed to be the same 
as the Father Long-Beard mentioned by Bruce 
in Abyssinia. " On the loftiest summit of the 
mountain of Lamallon, while the traveler's ser- 
vants were refreshing themselves after the fa- 
tigues of a toilsome ascent, and enjoying the 
pleasures of a delightful climate, and a good 
dinner of goat's flesh, a lammer-geyer suddenly 
made his appearance among them. A great 
shout, or rather cry of distress, attracted the 
attention of Bruce, who, while walking toward 
the bird, saw it deliberately put its foot into a 
pan which contained a huge piece of meat which 



THE VULTURE — CONDOR. 39 

was boiling for the men's dinner. Finding the 
temperature, however, somewhat higher than it 
was accustomed to among the pure gushing 
springs of that rocky and romantic region, it 
suddenly withdrew its foot, but immediately 
afterward settled upon two large pieces of flesh 
which lay upon a wooden platter, and transfix- 
ing them with his talons, quickly and triumph- 
antly carried them off." 

All three faculties were doubtless employed 
against a poor pig, which being mortally 
wounded when trespassing on some private 
property, ran squealing and bleeding through 
the grass, and at length fell in the agonies of 
death. At the moment the animal was unable 
to rise, three vultures, from different directions, 
at the same time, descended upon it, no doubt 
attracted by its cries, and the scent of its reek- 
ing blood in the first instance, and sight indica- 
ting its locality. 

So rapidly does decomposition take place in 
the warm climates frequented by vultures, that 
they are of infinite service in clearing away that 
which would infect the air; and we see them 
hovering round villages and cities, perching on 
the roofs of those houses where death has just 
taken place, attending the chase, and every con- 
gregation of animal life, especially the battle- 
field. There is one called the Egyptian vulture. 



40 FIRESIDE READING. 

■which is a remarkable-looking bird, and is found 
all over Africa. 

We are apt to take a disgust to those crea- 
tures which live on carrion, who are often so 
eager for prey, that they will pounce upon it 
before it is dead; and this bird certainly aids 
the unfavorable impression by its sly, sneaking, 
and cruel look. Its long wings give it great 
buoyancy of flight; but, like all other vultures, 
when it has made its meal, it is stupid and slug- 
gish. One of its names is "Pharaoh's chicken;" 
having been a sacred animal among the ancient 
Egyptians, and frequently sculptured on their 
monuments. Mr. Bruce was of opinion that it 
is the "Racham" of Scripture, and it still 
bears the name of "Rachamah" in some parts 
of the east. 

In Egypt, indeed, this bird seems to be of 
singular service. There are great flocks of them 
in the neighborhood of Grand Cairo, which no 
person is permitted to destroy. The service 
they render the inhabitants is devouring all 
the carrion and filth of that great city ; which 
might otherwise tend to corrupt and putrefy the 
air. They are commonly seen in company with 
the wild dogs of the country, tearing a carcass 
very deliberately together. This odd association 
produces no quarrels ; the birds and quadrupeds 
seem to live amicably, and nothing but harmony 



THE VULTUUE — CONDOR. 41 

subsists between them. The wonder is still 
greater, as both are extremely rapacious, and 
both lean and bony to a very great degree; 
probably having no great plenty even of the 
wretched food on which they subsist. 

Another odious-looking vulture, but of ele- 
gant flight, used to frequent Cape Coast. It has 
a dark brown plumage, approaching to black; 
and the name of "turkey-buzzard" was given 
to it by European residents. Great precau- 
tions were required to keep it out of the castle 
kitchen, near which it hovered with greedy- 
looking eyes, darting in if it were unwatched 
for a minute, and stealing into the passages, to 
purloin the meat which was hung up in them 
to become tender. Its noiseless approach and 
rapid action made the negroes regard it with 
superstitious reverence; but Europeans could 
hardly tolerate its vicinity. 

When they had eaten as much as they could, 
these vultures flew slowly and heavily to perch 
upon the guns placed round the ramparts, 
whence they were knocked off, whenever they 
could be reached, and to which they did not 
make any resistance. When gorged, they had 
not the sense to avoid a spot from which they 
were so incessantly disturbed. 

The king of the vultures is the most beautiful 
of its tribe: its head and neck are colored with 



42 FIRESIDE READING. 

the most brilliant scarlet, orange, and violet; 
and these emerge in exquisite contrast from the 
gray ruff which encircles its neck, while the rest 
of its plumage is fawn-color and black. It 
walks in a leaping manner, and is said to be- 
come tame on some occasions. That lover of 
animals, and excellent friend to all beings, hu- 
man or otherwise, Dr. Neill, of Edinburgh, pos- 
sessed one which received company in his unique 
garden without being alarmed, taking caresses 
as if they were due, but not giving any sign of 
affection even for its worthy master. 

This bird has received its royal name from 
the fact, that when a number of other vultures 
are assembled round their prey, if one or more 
of this species should be present, they all wait 
till majesty is served before they begin, which 
they do with an eagerness which shows there 
must be some powerful motive to restrain them, 
probably a fear of superior strength and courage. 
Mr. Byam, in his Travels, describes such a scene 
in the following manner : " One day, having lost 
a mule by death, he was dragged up to a small 
hill, not far off, where I knew, in an hour or 
two, he would be safely buried in vulture-sepul- 
ture. I was standing on a hillock, about a hun- 
dred yards off, with a gun in my hand, watching 
the surprising distance that a vulture descries 
his prey from, and the gathering of so many 



THE VULTURE — CONDOR. 43 

from all parts, up and down wind, where none 
had been seen before, and that in a very short 
space of time. Hearing a loud, whirring noise 
over my head, I looked up, and saw a fine large 
bird, with outstretched and seemingly-motionless 
wings, sailing toward the carcass that had al- 
ready been partially demolished. I would not 
fire at the bird ; for I had a presentiment that 
it was his majesty of the vultures; but beck- 
oned to an Indian to come up the hill — and, 
showing him the bird that had just alighted, he 
said, 'The king of the vultures; you will see 
how he is adored.' Directly the fine-looking 
bird approached the carcass, the oi polloi of the 
vultures retired to a short distance ; some flew off, 
and perched on some contiguous branch; while 
by far the greatest number remained, acting the 
courtier, by forming a most respectful and well- 
kept ring around him. His majesty, without 
any signs of acknowledgment for such great 
civility, proceeded to make a most gluttonous 
meal; but, during the whole time he was em- 
ployed, not a single envious bird attempted to 
intrude upon him at his repast, till he had 
finished, and taken his departure with a heavier 
wing and slower flight than on his arrival ; but 
when he had taken his perch on a high tree, not 
far off, his dirty, ravenous subjects, increased in 
number during his repast, ventured to diftOtiSfl 



44 FIRESIDE READING. 

the somewhat-diminished carcass ; for the royal 
appetite was certainly very fine. I have since 
beheld the above scene acted many times, but 
always with great interest." 

It is pleasant to be a spectator of the hos- 
tilities between animals that are thus hateful or 
noxious. Of all creatures, the two most at en- 
mity are the vulture of Brazil and the crocodile. 
The female of this terrible amphibious creature, 
which, in the rivers of that part of the world, 
grows to the size of twenty feet, lays its eggs, 
to the number of one or two hundred, in the 
sands, on the side of the river, where they are 
hatched by the heat of the climate. For this 
purpose, she takes every precaution to hide 
from all other animals the place where she 
deposits her burden ; in the mean time, a num- 
ber of vultures sit, silent and unseen, in the 
branches of some neighboring forest, and view 
the crocodile's operations, with the pleasing ex- 
pectation of succeeding plunder. They pa- 
tiently wait till the crocodile has laid the whole 
number of her eggs, till she has covered them 
carefully with the sand, and till she is retired 
from them to a convenient distance. Then all 
together encourage each other with cries, they 
pour down upon the nest, hook up the sand in 
a moment, lay the eggs bare, and devour the 
whole brood without remorse. Wretched as is 



THE VULTURE — CONDOR. 45 

the flesh of these animals, yet men, perhaps, 
when pressed by hunger, have been tempted to 
taste it. Nothing can be more lean, stringy, 
nauseous, and unsavory. It is in vain that, 
when killed, the rump has been cut off; in vain 
the body has been washed, and spices used to 
overpower its prevailing odor : it still smells and 
tastes of the carrion by which it was nourished, 
and sends forth a stench that is insupportable. 
These birds, at least those of Europe, usually 
lay two eggs at a time, and produce but once a 
year. They make their nests in inaccessible 
cliffs, and in places so remote that it is rare to 
find them. 

The largest of all the vultures — the condor — 
is a native of the Andes. Its birthplace would 
alone convey an idea of something grander than 
ordinary creatures, and it has been said to per- 
sonate the roc, or rukh, of eastern fable ; modern 
science and judicious travelers have, however, 
brought it to a level with human comprehension, 
and Baron Humboldt first ascertained its actual 
size. He says, even he " considered it as a 
winged giant, invested as it was with the mys- 
tery of solitude, sitting on the rocks close to 
the limits of eternal snow ; and nothing but the 
measurement of the dead bird convinced him 
of the reality of its dimensions." It has the 
usual flight of vultures, that is, it only flaps its 



46 FIRESIDE READING. 

wings when rising ; it, however, frequently low- 
ers its head and neck, and glides, rather than 
flies, for hours at a time, ascending and de- 
scending in wide circles and spires, in the most 
stately manner. 

The condor is supposed to ascend to a greater 
hight in the atmosphere than any other living 
creature. Humboldt, indeed, has calculated 
that it will ascend perpendicularly to the hight 
of six miles; "and to this vast hight," as he 
expresses it, " the condor is seen majestically 
sailing through the ethereal space, watchfully 
surveying the airy depth in quest of his accus- 
tomed prey." The eyries or nests of the condor 
are generally about 15,000 feet above the level 
of the sea. " There, perched in dreary solitude, 
on the crests of scattered peaks, at the very 
verge of the region of perpetual snow, these 
dark, gigantic birds are seen silently reposing 
like melancholy specters." The condor makes 
no nest, but lays its eggs on the bare earth. It 
feeds principally on dead animal matter ; and 
though its usual station is on the peaks of the 
mountains, it sometimes descends to feed among 
the plains and valleys. On these occasions it is 
sometimes seen, first, as a mere speck in the 
clouds, and then growing larger and larger as 
it descends, till at last it pounces upon its prey. 

When the condor is feeding, it appears quite 



THE VULTURE — CONDOR. 47 

absorbed and heedless of every thing around it ; 
and it seems so careless where the prey is, that 
a female, now in the French Museum, was found 
at sea sitting on the dead body of a floating 
whale. The condor is a large bird, from three 
to four feet in length, with an extent of wing 
sometimes reaching from ten to twelve feet. 
"In riding along the plain," says Sir Francis 
Head, "I passed a dead horse, about which 
were forty or fifty condors : many of them were 
gorged and unable to fly ; several were standing 
on the ground devouring the carcass ; the rest 
hovering above it. I rode within twenty yards 
of them; one of the largest of the birds was 
standing with one foot on the ground, and the 
other on the horse's body: the display of mus- 
cular strength as he lifted the flesh, and tore 
off great pieces, sometimes shaking his head 
and pulling with his beak, and sometimes push- 
ing with his leg, was quite astonishing." The 
next morning Sir Francis was informed that, 
after he had passed, a contest had taken place 
between one of his men and a condor. The 
man, who was a Cornish miner, had a great 
desire to possess one of these birds, and per- 
ceiving that one of them seemed completely 
gorged, he jumped oft' his horse and seized the 
bird by the neck. M The contest was extra- 
ordinary, and the rencounter unexpected. No 



48 FIRESIDE READING. 

two animals can well be imagined less likely to 
meet than a Cornish miner and a condor; and 
few could have calculated a year ago, when the 
one was hovering high over the snowy pinnacles 
of the Cordillera, and the other many fathoms 
beneath the surface of the ground in Cornwall, 
that they would ever meet to wrestle, and hug 
upon the wide desert plain of Villa Vicencia. 
My companion said he never had such a battle 
in his life ; that he put his knee upon the bird's 
breast, and tried with all his strength to twist 
its neck, but that the condor, objecting to this, 
struggled violently ; and also, as several others 
were flying over his head, he expected they 
would attack him. He said that at last he suc- 
ceeded in killing his antagonist ; and, with great 
pride, he showed me the large feathers of the 
wings;" but the struggle had evidently been a 
most severe one. 

Mr. Darwin declares, that the stories of con- 
dors carrying away children are not true; but 
they certainly attack goats, lambs, vicunhas, 
lamas, and even human beings. They are some- 
times taken with the lasso, and also with traps. 

The habits of the condor partake of the bold 
ferocity of the eagle, and of the disgusting 
filthiness of the vulture. Although, like the 
latter, it appears to prefer the dead carcass, it 
frequently makes war upon a living prey; but 



THE VULTURE — CONDOR. 49 

the gripe of its talons is not sufficiently firm to 
enable it to carry off its victim through the air. 
Two of these birds, acting in concert, will fre- 
quently attack a puma, a lama, a calf, or even 
a full-grown cow. They will pursue the poor 
animal with unwearied pertinacity, lacerating it 
incessantly with their beaks and talons, till it 
falls exhausted with fatigue and loss of blood. 
Then, having first seized upon its tongue, they 
proceed to tear out its eyes, and commence their 
feast with these favorite morsels. 

The intestines form the second course of their 
banquet, which is usually continued till the birds 
have gorged themselves so fully as to render 
themselves incapable of using their wings in 
flight. The Indians, who are well acquainted 
with this effect of their voracity, are in the 
habit of turning it to account for their amuse- 
ment in the chase. For this purpose they ex- 
pose the dead body of a horse or a cow, by 
which some of the condors, which are gener- 
ally hovering in the air in search of food, are 
speedily attracted. As soon as the birds have 
glutted themselves on the carcass, the Indians 
make their appearance armed with the lasso, 
and the condors, being unable to escape by 
flight, arc pursued and caught by means of 
these singular weapons with the greatest cer- 
tainty. This sport is a peculiar favorite in the 



50 FIRESIDE READING. 

country, where it is held in a degree of estima- 
tion second to that of a bull-fight alone. 

In tenacity of life the condor exceeds almost 
every other bird. M. Humboldt relates that 
during his stay at Riobamba he was present - at 
some experiments which were made on one by 
the Indians who had taken it alive. They first 
strangled it with a lasso and hanged it on a 
tree, pulling it forcibly by the feet for several 
minutes; but scarcely was the lasso removed, 
when the bird arose and walked about as though 
nothing had occurred to affect it. 

Mr. By am tells us that the condor flies 
straight to its prey, and thinks that it is guided 
by sight; but he is of opinion that all vultures 
are directed by this sense. Other birds follow 
it, because they know it is going to its prey. 
It will drive away the largest dogs, and is more 
powerful than the eagle ; it frequently measures 
fifteen or sixteen feet from the tip of one wing 
to the tip of the other, even when not stretched 
to the utmost, and four feet from beak to tail ; 
its legs are as thick as a man's wrist, and its 
middle claw seven inches long. It is easily 
knocked over and secured when gorged ; for it 
must run, or be on an elevation in order to take 
flight. One blow of its beak would kill a man, 
but it dare not attack him when his eye is upon 
it. If an animal be bogged, it gets at it under 



THE VULTURE — CONDOR. 51 

the tail, tears long strips away along the under 
part, and soon gets into the body, and buries 
itself within. 

Mr. Byam's own adventure with condors is 
thus related: "After a weary climb up a steep 
mountain, trying to kill a good specimen, out 
of some condors which were reposing on a cas- 
tle-looking rock, after a plentiful meal upon a 
poor horse which had sunk exhausted in the 
pass below, I found myself on the said rock, 
standing alone with two fine specimens dead at 
my feet, but the numerous survivors seemed dis- 
posed to be vindictive, and I had only taken up 
the hill with me, by mistake, a couple of the 
swan-shot cartridges. Standing alone on the 
rock, my servants in the pass below got 
alarmed, and seeing my powder-horn and shot- 
bag on the side of the road, they knew I must 
be without ammunition, and hastened up to me ; 
and I must say I was glad of it, for the birds 
were flying so close to my head that I was 
obliged to fire off the two barrels I had left; 
one of them being fired so close to a condor 
that the shot made a hole like a ball through 
him, and I was actually obliged to make uso o( 
them before my servants brought up my ammu- 
nition. A few quick shots soon dispersed them 
all." 

Mr. Darwin speaks of two vultures oi' South 



52 FIRESIDE READING. 

America, called the carrancha, or caracara— pol- 
yborus — and the gallinazo, or chimango — ca- 
thartes — which will feed together on the same 
carcass, but are not friends under any other cir- 
cumstances. When the former is quietly seated 
on the branch of a tree, the latter flies up and 
down in a semicircle, trying each time to strike 
its relative, which only bobs its head. They 
are both very cunning, and steal eggs, and will 
kill wounded animals. If a person lie down to 
sleep in the open air, when he awakes he will 
see one of these birds on each surrounding hil- 
lock, watching him with an evil eye. 

A vulture called thuru in Chili, is said to 
have a habit of raising its head, and bending it, 
with its beak wide open, till the crown touches 
the back, and several combine and attack the 
gallinazo, till it disengages its lately-swallowed 
prey. 

The black vulture of this country is thus de- 
scribed by Wilson : " A horse had dropped 
down dead, and was dragged up to Hampstead 
and skinned. I ventured cautiously within 
thirty yards of the carcass, where three or four 
dogs, and twenty or thirty vultures were busily 
tearing and devouring. The dogs being some- 
times accidentally flapped with their wings, 
would growl and snap at them, which would oc- 
casion them to spring up for a moment; but 



THE VULTURE — CONDOR. 53 

they immediately gathered in again. I re- 
marked that they frequently attacked each 
other, fighting with their claws or heels, striking 
like a cock with open wings, and fixing their 
claws in each other's heads. The females, and 
I believe the males likewise, made a hissing- 
sound, with open mouth, exactly resembling 
that produced by thrusting a red-hot poker into 
water, and frequently a snuffing, like a dog 
clearing his nostrils, as I suppose they were 
theirs. As they were often disturbed by the 
dogs, I ordered the latter home ; and my voice 
gave no alarm to the vultures. As soon as the 
dogs departed, the vultures crowded in such 
numbers that I counted, at one time, thirty- 
seven, on and around the carcass, with several 
within, so that scarcely an inch of it was visible. 
Sometimes one would come out with a large 
piece of the entrails, which in a moment was 
surrounded by several others, who tore it in 
fragments. Sometimes I observed them stretch- 
ing their necks along the ground, as if to press 
the food downward."* 

These appear to be the same birds described 
by Acosta, under the name of poullazes, which, 
as he tells us, "have a surprising agility and a 
piercing eye, and are very useful for clearing 

° Americau Ornithology, 



54 FIKESIDE READING. 

cities, not suffering the least vestige of carrion 
or putrid matter to remain. They spend the 
night upon trees and rocks, and resort to the 
towns in the morning, perching upon the tops 
of the highest buildings, whence they look out 
for their plunder."* We shall only add to 
these accounts those of M. Desmarchais, who 
strangely supposes the 0. aura to be a sort of 
turkey, that, instead of living upon grain, had 
become accustomed to feed upon carrion. 
"These birds," he adds, "follow the hunters, 
especially those whose object is only to procure 
the skins ; these people neglect the carcasses, 
which would rot on the spot, and infect the air, 
but for the assistance of these birds, which no 
sooner perceive a flayed body than they call to 
each other, and pour upon it like vultures, and 
in an instant devour the flesh, and leave the 
bones as clear as if they had been scraped with 
a knife. The Spaniards, who are settled upon 
the large islands, and upon the continent, as 
well as the Portuguese, who inhabit those tracts 
where they traffic in hides, receive great benefit 
from these birds, by their devouring the dead 
bodies, and preventing infection ; and therefore 
they impose a fine upon those who destroy them. 
This protection has, as a natural consequence, 

8 Quoted by Buffon. 



THE VULTURE — CONDOR. 55 

extremely multiplied this disgusting kind of 
turkey."* 

But it may be remarked that, in all the ac- 
counts given of these gregarious vultures, noth- 
ing is said of their appointing a sentinel like 
the mountain sheep, or like several species of 
birds to which we shall presently attend. For 
this, however, there is the obvious reason, that 
the vultures have no formidable enemies, being 
protected by man to serve his convenience; be- 
sides that, like the mole, they seem to be too 
disgusting to be preyed upon by any animal. 
The colonists, indeed, have tried every device to 
render the flesh palatable ; but, though they 
have cut off the rump and extracted the en- 
trails, the instant the birds have been killed, 
they still retain an insupportable odor of car- 
rion, which nothing can remove. f This is not 
all ; for they have also a singular manner of de- 
fending themselves if they happen to be at- 
tacked. a A man in the state of Delaware," 
says Mr. Ord, " a few years since, observing 
some turkey-buzzards regaling themselves upon 
the carcass of a horse, which was in a highly- 
putrid state, conceived the design of making a 
captive of one, to take home for the amusement 
of his children. He cautiously approached, 

Quoted by Builbu. f Desmaivlniis, as above. 



56 FIRESIDE READING. 

and, springing upon the unsuspicious group, 
grasped a fine, plump fellow in his arms, and 
was bearing off his prize in triumph, when, lo ! 
the indignant vulture disgorged such a torrent 
of filth in the face of our hero as forever cured 
him of his inclination for turkey-buzzards."* 

The vulture of Europe — vultur fulvus — is 
the griffin, the lammer-geyer, and the bearded 
griffin, from having a tuft of bristles which 
hangs down on each side of the lower beak, or 
mandible, besides which three appellations it 
has a multitude of others. Its home is among 
the Alps, where it frequents the highest sum- 
mits, and it also extends its flight to the mount- 
ains of North Africa and Western Asia. It is 
quite as large as the largest eagle, and is equally 
covered with feathers. Its claims to be consid- 
ered as a vulture, however, are easily traced in 
its beak and talons, which are not as powerful 
as those of the eagle; its eyes also are wholly 
wanting in that keen and daring expression 
which distinguishes the king of birds. It feeds 
on dead animals; but if much pressed by hun- 
ger, attacks living, but weak animals, such as 
hares and rabbits, sickly lambs, and kids. Sto- 
ries are told of its having driven more powerful 
prey to the edge of some precipice, down which 

"- Amer. Ornith., ix, 98. 



THE VULTURE — CONDOR. 57 

it forces them, and descends afterward to de- 
vour them. It has been said to attack even 
men, and many fearful natives of Switzerland 
tell of its power and voracity, all of which, 
however, have probably been exaggerated. 



Ill 

FALCONRY, which is now so much disused, 
was the principal amusement of our European 
ancestors. A person of rank scarcely stirred 
out without his hawk on his hand, which in old 
paintings is the criterion of nobility. The ex- 
pense which attended this sport was very great : 
among the old Welsh princes, the king's fal- 
coner was the fourth officer in the state ; but, 
notwithstanding all his honors, he was forbidden 
to take more than three draughts of beer from 
his horn, lest he should get drunk and neglect 
his duty. In the reign of James the First, Sir 
Thomas Monson is said to have given a thou- 
sand pounds for a cast of falcons ; and such was 
their value in general, that it was made felony 
in the reign of Edward the Third to steal a 
falcon. To take its eggs, even in a person's 
own ground, was punishable with imprisonment 
for a year and a day, together with a fine at the 
King's pleasure. 

The falcon is a native of the cold climates of 
58 



THE FALCON. 59 

the north, but it is never seen in warm and sel- 
dom in temperate climates. It will, however, 
bear to be transported from Iceland and Russia 
into France and Italy, and even into Persia 
and Turkey, without losing its strength or its 
vivacity. Next to the eagle it is the most for- 
midable, active, and intrepid of all voracious 
birds. It boldly attacks the largest of the 
feathered race ; the stork, the heron, and the 
crane, are easy victims. Hares it kills by dart- 
ing directly upon them. 

Now that other modes of hunting have been 
substituted, falcons are but little prized, al- 
though they must always be admired for their 
great beauty and their heroic daring. Besides 
this, there is a sort of romance attached to 
them, owing to the histories of other times, 
when the fairest and the noblest of the most civ- 
ilized countries joined in the sport of which they 
were the principal promoters. In those days, 
falconry was elevated into a science, and enor- 
mous sums were expended on the training and 
keeping of these birds, concerning which many 
quaint, but verbose, technical treatises are still 
in existence. 

The falcon family are remarkable for velocity 
of flight. A falcon sent from Andalusia back 
to its home in the Canary Islands, was found in 
Teneriftb sixteen hours after it had taken its 



60 FIRESIDE READING. 

flight from Spain, the distance being not less 
than seven hundred and fifty-two miles; and 
a falcon belonging to Henry the Second of 
France, which made its escape from Fontaine- 
bleau, was retaken the next day in the Island 
of Malta, where it was recognized by the rings 
on its legs, having made the journey at the rate 
of at least seventy-five miles an hour. 

The most esteemed of all falcons was the per- 
egrine, so named because it appears to be a 
bird of passage in all the northern countries of 
the globe. So little is it afraid of man, that it 
frequently makes great havoc even among the 
pigeons in London. Mr. St. John tells us he 
has, in Scotland, seen one chase a golden plover 
for ten minutes, which turned and doubled to 
elude its pursuer, but the falcon was in no 
hurry, and continued the chase, although the 
plover was sometimes high above it, and at oth- 
ers swept rapidly round a bush or headland, till 
at last, being perfectly exhausted, the plover 
fell a prey to the more deliberate enemy. A 
tame one, belonging to the same gentleman, at- 
tacked every dog and person to whom it took a 
dislike, and was so great a destroyer of poultry, 
that he was obliged to chain it up in the kitchen 
garden. The usual flight of the falcon is about 
sixty miles an hour; but it doubles that rate 
when swooping upon its prey. Few birds of 



THE FALCON. 61 

even larger size can withstand it ; but the heron 
is less easily conquered than others, on account 
of the hight to which it flies; for the falcon 
must descend upon its prey ; when, however, it 
manages to get the uppermost in chasing a 
heron, it has often been impaled upon the long, 
sharp beak of the latter, which the former bird 
is able, from the length of its neck, to twist be- 
hind its wing, and present upright to its enemy. 
The only bird of prey which is known to sing 
agreeably is the falcon, which inhabits southern 
Africa. 

In order to train up a falcon, the master be- 
gins by clapping straps upon his legs, which are 
called jesses, to which is fastened a ring with 
the owner's name, by which, in case he should 
be lost, the finder may know where to bring him 
back. To these also are added little bells, 
which serve to mark the place where he is seen 
if lost in the chase. He is always carried on 
the hand, and is obliged to be kept without 
sleeping. If he be stubborn, and attempts to 
bite, his head is plunged in water. Thus, by 
hunger, watching, and fatigue, he is constrained 
to submit to having his head covered by a hood 
or cowl, which covers his eyes. This trouble- 
some employment continues often for three days 
and nights without ceasing. It rarely happens 
but at the end of this, his necessities and the 



62 FIRESIDE READING. 

privation of light make him lose all idea of lib- 
erty, and bring down his natural wildness. His 
master judges of his being tamed when he per- 
mits his head to be covered without resistance, 
and ffhen uncovered he seizes the meat before 
him contentedly. The repetition of these les- 
sons by degrees insures success. His wants 
being the chief principle of his dependence, it 
is endeavored to increase his appetite by giving 
him little balls of flannel, which he greedily 
swallows. Having thus excited the appetite, 
care is taken to satisfy it; and thus gratitude 
attaches the bird to the man who but just be- 
fore had been his torment. 

When the first lessons have succeeded, and 
the bird shows signs of docility, he is carried 
out upon some green, the head is uncovered, 
and, by flattering him with food at different 
times, he is taught to jump on the hand, and 
to continue there. When confirmed in this 
habit, it is then thought time to make him ac- 
quainted with the lure. This lure is only a 
thing stuffed like the bird the falcon is designed 
to pursue, such as a heron, a pigeon, or a quail, 
and on this lure they always take care to give 
him his food. It is quite necessary that the 
bird should not only be acquainted with this, 
but fond of it, and delicate in his food when 
shown it. The use of this lure is to flatter him 



THE FALCON. 63 

back when he has flown in the air, which he 
sometimes fails to do ; and it is always requisite 
to assist it by the voice and the signs of the 
master. When the familiarity and the docility 
of the bird are sufficiently confirmed on the 
green, he is then carried into the open fields, 
but still kept fast by a string which is about 
twenty yards long. He is then uncovered as 
before ; and the falconer calling him, at some 
paces distance, till he comes at last to fly to it 
at the utmost length of his string. He is then 
to be shown the game itself alive, but disabled 
or tame, which he is designed to pursue. After 
having seized this several times with his string, 
he is then left entirely at liberty, and carried 
into the field for the purposes of pursuing that 
which is wild. At that he flies with avidity ; 
and when he has seized it or killed it, he is 
brought back by the voice and the lure. 

By this method of instruction, a falcon may 
be taught to fly at any game whatsoever ; but 
falconers have chiefly confined their pursuit only 
to such animals as yield them profit by the cap- 
ture, or pleasure in the pursuit. The hare, the 
partridge, and the quail, repay the trouble of 
taking them; but the most delightful sport, to 
the falconer, is the falcon's pursuit of the heron, 
the kite, or the woodlark. Instead oi' flying 
directly forward, as some other birds do, these, 



64 FIRESIDE READING. 

when they see themselves threatened by the ap- 
proach of the hawk, immediately take to the 
skies. They fly almost perpendicularly upward, 
while their ardent pursuer keeps pace with their 
flight, and tries to rise above them. Thus both 
diminish by degrees from the gazing spectator 
below, till they are quite lost in the clouds ; but 
they are soon seen descending, struggling to- 
gether, and using every effort on both sides — 
the one of rapacious insult, the other of des- 
perate defense. The unequal combat is soon at 
an end ; the falcon comes off victorious, and the 
Other, killed or disabled, is made a prey either 
to the bird or the sportsman. 



IV. 

(milvus.) 

ALTHOUGH hawks and kites are objects of 
great terror to their smaller brethren, they 
are, in reality, of a cowardly disposition; and, 
although, from their depredations, we are apt to 
think them cruel, they have given many proofs 
of an affectionate and docile disposition. They 
are smaller than any of the birds of prey of 
which we have spoken, and their weapons of of- 
fense and defense are less formidable ; but their 
wings are very long in proportion to the size 
of their bodies, which gives them great power 
of flight, and they are able to mount to a great 
hight in the air. They do not at once rush 
upon their prey, but come down in wide, circu- 
lar sweeps, skim over it, and bear it away in 
their talons. 

The more ignoble race of birds make up by 
cunning and assiduity what the others claim by 
force and celerity. The kite, which may be dis- 
tinguished from all the rest of this tribe by his 
5 66 i) 



C6 FIRESIDE READING. 

forked tail, and his slow, floating motion, seems 
almost forever upon the wing. He lives only 
upon accidental carnage, as almost every bird 
in the air is able to make good his retreat 
against him. He may be, therefore, considered 
as an insidious thief, who only prowls about, 
and, when he finds a small bird wounded, or a 
young chicken strayed too far from the mother, 
instantly seizes the hour of calamity, and, like 
a famished glutton, is sure to show no mercy. 
His hunger, indeed, often urges him to acts of 
seeming desperation. One has been seen to fly 
round and round for a while to mark a group 
of chickens, and then on a sudden dart like 
lightning upon the unresisting little animal, and 
carry it off, the hen in vain crying out, and the 
boys hooting and casting stones to scare it from 
its plunder. 

No one can see the alarm excited in a dove- 
cote w T hen one is approaching, or the agonized 
terror of a hen when she gathers her chickens 
under her wings, without feeling sure that a 
formidable enemy is approaching. A little re- 
sistance, however, will frighten the hawk away, 
and the hen often assumes a bold front against 
the destroyer. 

The chicken-hawk is a kind of buzzard, and 
in " Gosse's Birds of Jamaica," a curious in- 
stance is mentioned of the care which the fe- 



HAWKS — KITES. 67 

male of this rapacious bird takes of her young. 
A large nest was observed near the top of an 
immense cotton-tree, into which the old birds 
frequently entered. The gigantic dimensions 
of the tree, and the smoothness of its trunk, 
rendered it very difficult to examine the nest. 
At length, two young birds were observed to 
emerge from it, and to try their powers of flight. 
The gentleman who has recorded this circum- 
stance relates, that "he distinctly saw the par- 
ent bird, after the first young one had flown a 
little way, and was beginning to flutter down- 
ward — he saw the mother, for the mother surely 
it was — fly beneath it, and present her back and 
wings for its support. He can not say that the 
young actually rested on, or even touched the 
parent; perhaps its confidence returned on see- 
ing support so near, so that it managed to reach 
a dry tree, when the other little one, invited by 
the parent, tried its infant wings in like man- 
ner. This touching manifestation of parental 
solicitude is used by the Holy Spirit in the Song 
of Moses, to illustrate the tenderness of lovo 
with which Jehovah led his people Israel about, 
and cared for them in the wilderness. 'As an 
eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her 
young, sprcadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, 
beareth them on her wings; so the Lord alone 
did lend him, and there was no strange God 



05 FIRESIDE READING. 

with him.' Dent, xxxii, 12. See also Exod. 
xix, 4." 

Though strong and active, the buzzard is so 
cowardly that he will fly even from the sparrow- 
hawk, and, when he is overtaken, will allow him- 
self to be beaten, and cast to the ground, with- 
out making any resistance. His indolence is 
equal to his cowardice, as he will sit perched on 
the same bough during the greatest part of the 
day. Such is his laziness that he seldom con- 
structs a nest, but contents himself with repair- 
ing the old nest of a crow, and lining it with 
wool and other soft materials. Rats, mice, and 
often all sorts of carrion, are his articles of 
subsistence. 

It is but fair, however, that justice should be 
done to the good qualities of the buzzard. He 
may be tamed ; and, in his domestic state, he 
manifests a very strong attachment to his owner. 
Buffon has given a highly-amusing account of 
one which was reclaimed from the wild state by 
the rector of St. Pierre de St. Belesme, and 
which displayed much of the sagacity and affec- 
tion of a dog. "After having shut it. up about 
six weeks," says he, "I began to allow it a little 
liberty, taking the precaution, however, to tie 
both the pinions of its wings. In this condition 
it walked out in my garden, and returned when 
I called it to feed. After some time, when I 



HAWKS — KITES. 69 

judged that I could trust to its fidelity, I re- 
moved the ligatures ; and fastened a small bell, 
an inch and a half in diameter, above its talon, 
and also attached to its breast a bit of copper, 
having my name engraved on it. I then gave it 
entire liberty, which it soon abused ; for it took 
wing, and flew as far as the forest of Belesme. 
I gave it up for lost ; but four hours afterward, I 
saw it rush into my hall, pursued by four or five 
other buzzards, which had constrained it to seek 
again its asylum. After this adventure, it pre- 
served its fidelity to me, coming every night to 
sleep on my window." It would also sit by and 
caress him at dinner, and follow him when he 
was on horseback. This bird had a remarkable 
antipathy to wigs, and particularly to red caps, 
which it never failed to snatch from the wearers, 
and deposit in a very high tree, that served as a 
storehouse for its plunder. It is still more to 
the credit of the buzzard that it is a most 
kind and assiduous parent; and Ray affirms 
that, should the female chance to be killed, the 
male will take charge of the young ones, and 
rear them till they can provide for themselves. 

The sparrow-hawk is the most audacious of 
all, and as instances of his impudence, Mr. St. 
John tells us, that one of them pursued a pigeon 
through his "drawing-room window, and out at 
the other end of the house through another win- 



70 FIRESIDE HEADING. 

dow, and never slackened its pursuit, notwith- 
standing the clattering of the broken glass of 
the two windows as they passed through." A 
still more remarkable proof of audacity oc- 
curred to the same gentleman, who one day 
found " a sparrow-hawk deliberately standing 
on a very large pouter-pigeon on the drawing- 
room floor, and plucking it, having entered in 
pursuit of the unfortunate bird through an open 
window, and killed him in the room." 

A Mr. Clark, of Suffolk, England, places the 
sparrow-hawk in a much more amiable light, in 
nearly the following words: "About three years 
since, my brother purchased a young sparrow- 
hawk, and reared it himself. This was rather 
hazardous, as he at the same time had a large 
stock of fancy pigeons, which, in consequence 
of their rarity and value, he greatly prized. It 
seems, however, that kindness and care had 
softened the nature of the hawk, or the regu- 
larity with which he was fed rendered the usual 
habits of his family unnecessary to happiness ; 
for, as he increased in age and size, his famil- 
iarity also increased, leading him to form aD 
intimate acquaintance with a set of friends who 
have been seldom seen in such society. When- 
ever the pigeons came to feed, which they often 
did, from the hand of their almoner, the hawk 
used also to accompany them. At first the 



HAWKS — KITES. 71 

pigeons were shy, but by degrees they got over 
their fears, and ate as confidently as if the an- 
cient enemies of their race had sent no repre- 
sentative to their banquet. It was curious to 
observe the playfulness of the hawk, and his 
perfect good nature during the entertainment; 
for he received his morsel of meat without any 
of that ferocity with which birds of prey usually 
take their food, and merely uttered a cry of 
lamentation when the carver disappeared. He 
would then attend the pigeons in their flight 
round the house and gardens, and perch with 
them on the chimney-top, or roof of the man- 
sion, and never failed to do so early in the morn- 
ing, when the pigeons always took their exer- 
cise. At night he retired with them to the 
dove-cote; and, although for some days he was 
the sole occupant of the place, the pigeons not 
having relished this intrusion at first, he was 
afterward a welcome guest there ; for he never 
disturbed them, even when their young ones, 
helpless and unfledged as they were, offered a 
strong temptation to his appetite. He seemed 
unhappy at any separation from the pigeons; 
and invariably returned to the dove-house after 
a few days purposed confinement in another 
abode, during which he would utter most mel- 
ancholy cries for deliverance; but these were 
changed to exclamations of joy and delight on 



72 FIRESIDE READING. 

the arrival of any person with whom he was 
familiar. 

"All the household were on terms of ac- 
quaintance with him; and there never was a 
bird who seemed to have won such general ad- 
miration. He was as playful as a kitten, and, 
literally, as loving as a dove. He, however, was 
still a hawk, for a neighbor sent us a very fine 
specimen of the smaller horned-owl, which he had 
winged. After tending the wounded limb, we 
thought of soothing the prisoner's captivity by 
a larger degree of freedom than he had in the 
hencoop which he inhabited. No sooner did the 
hawk get sight of him than he fell upon the poor 
owl most unmercifully, and from that instant, 
whenever they came in contact, a series of skill- 
ful and courageous combats commenced. The 
defense of the poor little owl was admirably 
conducted ; he would throw himself upon his 
back, and await the attack of his enemy with 
patience and preparation, and by dint of biting 
and scratching, would frequently win a positive, 
as he often did a negative, victory. However, 
when the wing strengthened, the owl took an op- 
portunity of decamping. 

" The fate of the hawk was then soon accom- 
plished ; for he was shortly after found drowned 
in a butt of water, from which he had once or 
twice before been extricated, having summoned 



HAWKS — KITES. 73 

a deliverer to his assistance by cries of distress. 
There was great lamentation when he died ; and 
that portion of the dove-cote in which he was 
wont to pass the night, was for some time unoc- 
cupied by the pigeons, with whom he had lived 
so peaceably, even during his wars with the 
owl." 

The gos-hawk is very destructive to game. 
Concerning this bird, Dr. Stanley gives the fol- 
lowing remarkable story. In the spring, a gen- 
tleman walking in some fields in Yorkshire, saw 
a small hawk attempt to fly off with some prey 
it had just pounced upon, but was evidently pre- 
vented by the weight of its captive from rising 
to any hight above the ground. It was pursued 
by a hare, which, whenever it came within her 
reach, attacked it with her paws, and at last 
succeeded in knocking it down, when it dropped 
its prey. At this moment the gentleman ran 
forward, and the hawk and its pursuer both 
made their retreat. Upon his searching the 
spot where the prey had been dropped, he found 
it to be a leveret, which at once explained the 
cause of the parent hare's gallant attack on the 
hawk. It was wounded on the side of the head, 
and was bleeding ; but the gentleman left it in a 
furrow, hoping that the wound might not prove 
fatal. 

The flight of the fish-hawk, his maneuvers 



74 FIRESIDE READING. 

while in search of fish, and his manner of seiz- 
ing his prey, are deserving of particular notice. 
In leaving the nest, he usually flies direct till 
he conies to the sea, then sails around in easy, 
curving lines, turning sometimes in the air as 
on a pivot, apparently without the least ex- 
ertion, rarely moving the wings ; his legs ex- 
tended in a straight line behind, and his re- 
markable length and curvature or bend of wing 
distinguishing him from all other hawks. The 
hight at which he thus elegantly glides is vari- 
ous, from one to two hundred feet, sometimes 
much higher, all the while calmly reconnoitering 
the deep below. Suddenly he is seen to check 
his course, as if struck by a particular object, 
which he seems to survey for a few moments 
with such steadiness that he appears fixed in 
air, flapping his wings. This object, however, 
he abandons, and he is again seen sailing around. 
as before. Now his attention is again arrested, 
and he descends with great rapidity; but ere 
he reaches the surface, shoots off on another 
course, as if ashamed that a second victim had 
escaped him. He now sails at a short hight 
above the surface, and by a zigzag descent; 
and without seeming to dip his feet in the water, 
seizes a fish, which, after carrying a short dis- 
tance, he probably drops or yields up to the 
bald eagle, and again ascends by easy, spiral 



HAWKS — KITES. 75 

circles to the higher regions of the air, where 
he glides about in all the ease and majesty of 
his species. 

At once from this sublime, aerial flight he de- 
scends like a perpendicular torrent, plunging 
into the sea with a loud, rushing sound and with 
the certainty of a rifle. In a few moments he 
emerges, bearing in his claws his struggling 
prey, which he always carries head-foremost ; 
and, having risen a few feet above the surface, 
shakes himself as a water-spaniel would do, and 
directs his heavy, laborious course directly for 
land. A shad was once taken from a fish-hawk, 
on which he had begun to regale himself, the 
remainder of which weighed six pounds. It is 
singular that the fish-hawk never descends to 
pick up a fish which he happens to drop either 
upon the land or on the water. This bird is 
probably the same as the osprey. 



V. 

(gypogerantjs, or serpent arius.) 

AVERY remarkable bird, first known in 
southern Africa — but two more species of 
which have been discovered, the one near the 
Gambia, and the other in the Philippine Isl- 
ands — claims our notice, for its preying chiefly 
on reptiles. So expert is it in the destruction 
of these creatures, that the French transported 
a number of them into Guadaloupe, where they 
were most successful in making havoc among 
the numerous serpents of that country. As a 
proof, however, that sudden changes are not 
advisable, the disappearance of the serpents 
caused such a superabundance of rats, that the 
colonists would have been glad to readmit their 
ancient enemies, and trust to the gradual dis- 
appearance of all noxious animals before the 
continued presence of man, which seems to be 
a law of nature. 

The serpentarius has also been named " the 
secretary," by the Dutch, in consequence of the 

loose feathers at the back of the head, looking 
76 



THE SECRETARY BIRD. 77 

very like a pen stuck behind the ear. It is 
armed with spurs upon its wings, with which it 
strikes its prey till the reptile is exhausted, and 
then finishes it by splitting open its skull with 
its foot. Its peculiar gait, to which no other 
word will apply except debonaire; its long, thin 
legs, its black thighs, and the whole contour 
strongly remind us of certain remnants of a 
past age. The gray feathers of the body are 
like the bloom-colored coat ; the loose feathers 
resemble the gray hair combed back; and it 
requires no great effort to fancy the white 
waistcoat, black satin continuations, and silk 
stockings, in the rest of the bird, and thus 
transform it into a beau of the past century, 
preserving his costume even in the present, in 
despite of the innovations of fashion. 

Mr. Pringle, whose interesting "Narrative 
of a Residence in South Africa" is but too lit- 
tle known, says "that the presence of this bird 
is a blessing ; for it destroys a vast quantity 
of insects and reptiles. These birds always kill 
their prey before swallowing it. Whether the 
secretary meets with a serpent or a tortoise, he 
invariably crushes it under the sole of his foot : 
and such is the skill and force with which he 
gives the blow, that it is very rarely that a ser- 
pent, of an inch or more in diameter, survives 
the first stroke. When he meets with a serpent 



78 FIRESIDE READING. 

that is large enough to oppose a long resistance 
to him, he flies off with his prey in his beak to 
a great hight, and then dropping it, follows it 
in its descent with wonderful rapidity, so as to 
be ready to strike it when it falls stunned on 
the ground. In general, these birds exhibit no 
fierceness, and they are easily domesticated." 

An eye-witness of a combat between the ser- 
pentarius and its prey, thus describes it : " He 
was one day riding, when he observed a snake- 
eater, while on the wing, make two or three cir- 
cles at a little distance from the spot on which 
he then was, and suddenly descend to the 
ground. He found the bird watching and ex- 
amining some object near the spot where it 
stood, which it continued to do for several min- 
utes. After that it moved, with considerable 
apparent caution, to a little distance, and then 
extended one of its wings, which it kept in con- 
tinual motion. Soon after this, the observer 
saw a large snake raise its head to a consider- 
able distance from the ground, which the bird 
had seemed to expect, and wait for. At the 
moment the snake reared its head, it instantly 
struck a sharp blow with the end of its wing, 
by which the snake was knocked flat on the 
ground. The bird, however, did not appear 
confident of having slain its enemy, or gained 
the victory, but kept its eye fixed on the reptile 

\ 



THE SECRETARY BIRD. 79 

for a short time; when the snake, reviving 
again, lifted up its head, and the bird, as be- 
fore, repeated the blow. After this second 
blow, it appeared to gain more confidence ; for 
almost the moment it was inflicted, it marched 
boldly up, and struck at the snake with its feet, 
after which, finding it disabled, though not 
quite dead, it rose almost perpendicularly to a 
very great hight, taking its prey in its beak, 
when he let the reptile drop ; and as it fell with 
great violence to the ground, the snake-eater 
seemed satisfied, and accordingly followed it to 
the earth, and with extraordinary gusto com- 
menced its meal." 

M. Le Vaillant, also witnessed one of these 
combats. Finding itself inferior in strength, 
the serpent endeavored to gain his hole, but the 
falcon, by a single leap, got before him and cut 
off his retreat. On whatever side the reptile 
strove to escape, the enemy still faced him. 
The serpent then erected himself to intimidate 
the bird, and hissing dreadfully, displayed his 
menacing throat, inflamed eyes, and a head 
swollen with rage and venom. Sometimes this 
produced a momentary suspension of hostilities ; 
but the bird soon returned to the charge, and, 
covering her body with one of her wings as a 
buckler, struck her enemy with the bony protu- 
berance of the other. The serpent at last 



80 FIRESIDE READING. 

dropped, and the bird laid open his skull with 
one stroke of her beak. 

This singular bird may be easily tamed, and 
it becomes very domestic and familiar. Though, 
if severely pinched with hunger, it will devour 
ducklings and chickens ; yet, if well fed, it will 
live with the poultry on amicable terms, and 
when it sees any of them quarreling, will run 
to part the combatants. Unlike all the rest of 
the feathered race, these birds always strike 
forward with their legs when they fight. 



VI. 

%\t %ite, at W&Wm-Wxl 

(CANIAD^EA.) 

BEFORE we conclude that short history of 
rapacious birds that prey by day, it may 
not be improper to describe a tribe of smaller 
birds, that seem from their size rather to be 
classed with the harmless order of the sparrow 
kind; but that from their crooked beak, cour- 
age, and appetite for slaughter, certainly de- 
serve a place here. The lesser butcher-bird is 
not much above the size of a lark ; that of the 
smallest species is not so big as a sparrow ; yet, 
diminutive as these little animals are, they make 
themselves formidable to birds of four times 
their dimensions. 

It is wonderful to see with what intrepidity 
this little creature goes to war witli the pie, the 
crow, and the kestril, all above four times larger 
than itself. It not only fights upon the defens- 
ive, but often comes to the attack, and always 
with advantage, particularly when the male and 
female unite to protect their young, and to drive 
G ' 81 l) 



82 FIRESIDE READING. 

away the more powerful birds of rapine. At 
that season, they do not wait the approach of 
their invader ; it is sufficient that they see him 
preparing for the assault at a distance. It is 
then that they sally forth with loud cries, wound 
him on every side, and drive him off with such 
fury, that he seldom ventures to return to the 
charge. In these disputes they generally come 
off with the victory; though it sometimes hap- 
pens that they fall to the ground with the bird 
they have so fiercely fixed upon, and the combat 
ends with the destruction of the assailant as well 
as of the defender. 

For this reason, the most redoubtable birds 
of prey respect them ; while the kite, the buz- 
zard, and the crow seem rather to fear than 
seek the engagement. Nothing in nature better 
displays the respect paid to the claims of cour- 
age, than to see this little bird, apparently so 
contemptible, fly in company with the lanner, 
the falcon, and all the tyrants of the air, with- 
out fearing their power, or avoiding their resent- 
ment 

As for small birds, they are his usual food. 
He seizes them by the throat, and strangles 
them in an instant. His name of nine-killer he 
derives from the popular belief that he catches 
small birds to the number of nine, and impales 
them on a thorn, before he begins to tear them 



THE SHRIKE. 83 

to pieces to satisfy his hunger. The fact is, 
that he pays no such attention to the regularity 
of number, but, being a bold bird, capable of 
killing much bigger birds than himself, he hangs 
his prey on a thorn, as a butcher does a beast 
on a hook, that he may dissever it with more 
convenience to himself. 



VII. 

, 0r internal §fcta of f r% 

(STRIX.) 

ONE of the most striking examples of the 
prevalence of vulgar prejudice over com- 
mon sense and daily experience, is afforded by 
the contemptuous antipathy in which the owls, 
the most useful to man of all the birds of prey, 
are almost universally held by those who derive 
the greatest advantage from their peculiar in- 
stincts. The singularity of their appearance, 
the loneliness of their habitations, the moping 
melancholy of their manners, their nocturnal 
habits, the still silence of their motions, and the 
grating harshness of their cries, combine to ren- 
der them objects of dislike and terror to the 
timid and superstitious, who see in them some- 
thing of an unearthly character, and regard 
them as birds of evil omen. But the com- 
monest observation teaches us that they are in 
reality the best and most efficient protectors of 
our cornfields and granaries from the devastat- 
ing pillage of the swarms of mice and other small 
84 



owls. 85 

rodents, which but for them would increase to 
the most mischievous extent. By their whole- 
sale destruction of these petty but dangerous 
enemies, the owls earn an unquestionable title 
to be regarded as among the most active of the 
friends of man; a title which only one or two 
of them forfeit by their aggressions on his de- 
fenseless poultry. 

No family presents greater beauty or sagacity, 
greater adaptation for its peculiar habits, or is 
guilty of more depredations. The softness and 
fineness of their plumage almost prevents their 
approach from being heard ; and as they are not 
remarkably swift, there is no rush of air to be- 
tray them. The sight of their large, round eyes 
is very imperfect by day; but they see with 
great accuracy by night. Their hearing is al- 
ways acute; and they are the only birds which 
possess an external apparatus round the orifice 
of the ear. 

From their nightly habits, their noiseless 
iiight, their strange, discordant cries, and their 
melancholy hootings, they appear always to 
have been objects of superstition; and nu- 
merous are the legends attached to them in 
all the countries which they have inhabited. 
One of these is the opinion, that they look in 
at the windows of those who are appointed to 
die, and tell them of their coming death. Mrs. 



86 FIRESIDE READING. 

Lee says: "An instance of this occurred to my- 
self. I was nursing and watching over a dear 
invalid for a long period ; and sometimes, when 
quite exhausted by fatigue and anxiety, I slept 
for a few nights in a separate room, to repair 
my strength. The house in which I then lived 
was in the country, far away from any high 
trees, or other buildings, and having no outer 
offices of its own likely to afford refuge to owls. 
Moreover, it was close to a road which was fre- 
quented by day and by night. My bedroom 
was at the top of the house; and on one occa- 
sion my rest was disturbed, for several nights, 
by strange noises in the chimney, chiefly con- 
sisting of groans, cries, and murmurings. The 
chimney was searched, and no sign of any liv- 
ing thing was to be detected. The nurse, the 
servants, were all convinced that these extraor- 
dinary sounds foretold the dissolution of the 
sick lady; and it was with the greatest difficulty 
I could keep the circumstance from her ears. 
One night, as I lay awake, with the curtains 
both of bed and window undrawn, that I might 
enjoy the flood of moonlight which brightened 
the room, a pale bird perched upon the window- 
sill, and made some of the noises which I had 
heard in the chimney. The mystery was ex- 
plained. I stole very softly to the window, and 
beheld a white owl, with its eyes glaring into 



owls. 87 

the room; but which flew away when I gently 
opened the window in the hope that it would 
come in. With some feeling of exultation, the 
appearance was told the next morning to the 
attendants of the sick-room; but I was soon 
checked by the declaration, that death was now 
more than ever certain, and the above supersti- 
tion was brought forward. The recovery of the 
sufferer was a joyful contradiction ; but so fond 
do people become of a cherished omen, that, al- 
though there was no want of feeling in the 
above parties, I believe they were disappointed." 
In common with other birds of prey, owls 
possess the power of rejecting from the stomach 
that which they can not digest. , Mr. Waterton, 
who erected a refuge for owls over his ancient 
gateway, which has stood two thousand years, 
and to this day contains the bullet fired into it 
by one of Cromwell's army, at the precise mo- 
ment in which the Mrs. Waterton of that time 
was hastily closing the said gate against the be- 
siegers, tells us that his servants predicted sick- 
ness and sorrow when the owls were first har- 
bored there; but he gravely assured them he 
would be responsible for all the calamities which 
they anticipated, and they have lived there in 
peace ever since. He informs us, that the parent 
birds will bring a mouse to their young every 
twelve or fifteen minutes. The ejected food 



88 FIRESIDE READING. 

comes up in the form of pellets, and each pellet 
contains from two to seven skeletons of mice. 
Sixteen months after the erection of the owl- 
chamber, more than a bushel of pellets was 
gathered from it, and these calculations will 
give some idea of the enormous number of mice 
which they will consume, and which must make 
them a blessing to all who possess stacks and 
barns for grain. 

"A pet owl of mine," says Mrs. Lee, "used 
to inhabit a fast-withering old apple-tree in my 
father's orchard, where I had placed him with 
one of his wings cut, and as he could not go far, 
he was plentifully supplied with food. Occa- 
sionally he caught a small bird for himself; and 
feathers would drop upon the ground under- 
neath. This was observed by a certain impu- 
dent, eccentric cat, also belonging to me, who 
would sit under the tree watching for an occa- 
sional morsel; and it was laughable to see the 
two. The odd gestures in which owls always in- 
dulge in the light, had all the appearance of 
his making grimaces at the cat, and she re- 
mained with her bright eyes fixed upon him; 
never offering to run up the tree, and he never 
descending when she was there, as if they had 
made a mutual compact to avoid a quarrel." 

Mr. Darwin speaks of a small owl, which 
either burrows a residence for itself, or takes 



owls. »y 

advantage of the ready-made habitations of the 
Biscacha, of South America, of which it is con- 
sequently a constant associate ; thus forming a 
curious feature of the history of birds. When 
pursued, it has a remarkable way of turning 
round and staring those who follow it in the 
face. Its frequent food is small snakes. 

A tawny owl which lived in Mr. St. John's 
garden, and entirely cleared it of mice, would 
also kill rats, ate out of the hand, answered : the 
call of children, tore crows and gulls to pieces, 
and hid what it did not require at the moment 
for a future meal. 

"I kept one of these birds," says Mr. Wil- 
son, "in a room for several weeks. It was 
caught in a barn, and being unhurt, I had an 
opportunity of remarking its manners. At first 
it struck itself so forcibly against the window 
as frequently to deprive it, seemingly, of all 
sensation for several minutes ; this was done so 
repeatedly that I began to fear that cither the 
glass, or the owl's skull must give way. In a 
few days, however, it either began to compre- 
hend the matter, or to take disgust at the glass; 
for it never repeated its attempts, and soon be- 
came quite tame and familiar. Those who have 
seen this bird only in the day, ean form but an 
imperfect idea of its activity and even sprightli- 
ness in its proper season of exercise. Through- 



VO FIRESIDE READING. 

out the day it was all stillness and gravity ; its 
eyelids half shut, its neck contracted, and its 
head shrunk seemingly into its body. But 
scarcely was the sun set and twilight began to 
approach, when its eyes became full and spark- 
ling like two living globes of fire; it crouched 
on its perch ; reconnoitered every object round 
with looks of eager fierceness; alighted and 
fed; stood on the meat with clinched talons, 
while it tore it in morsels with its bill; flew 
round the room with the silence of thought, 
and perching, moaned out its melancholy notes 
with many lively gesticulations not at all accord- 
ant with the pitiful tone of its ditty, which re- 
minded one of the shivering moaning of a half- 
frozen puppy." 

Musicians have given the unpleasing notes of 
owls to the keys of A sharp and B flat; but 
there are certain screeches which can hardly be 
reduced to any musical scale. In sacred writ- 
ings it is used as one of the images of desola- 
tion: in Leviticus, it is called an unclean bird, 
and there is no end to its appearance among 
profane poets, ancient and modern. Witches 
were said to fly about in the shape of owls, and 
were thus present at all the incantations per- 
formed by the Germans. Wickedness was as- 
cribed to the birds themselves, because they ate 
so many shrew mice; these pretty, harmless 



OWLS. 91 

little creatures being, in former times, supposed 
to be venomous, and to have the power of par- 
alyzing the limbs of those whom they might 
venture to infest. 

White owls are said not to hoot, but Mr. 
Broderip tells us, in his charming Zoological 
Recreations, that they scream horribly ; they 
also snore and hiss tremendously. 

The large, horned owl, sometimes called the 
grand duke, is one of the most beautiful birds 
that can be found; with its black and brown 
plumage, and the extreme majesty of its deport- 
ment. One remarkable feature in owls is, that 
they are excellent sitters for their portraits ; on 
which occasions they have been known to remain 
for an hour without moving; the grand duke 
among others ; his eyes now and then alone be- 
traying his consciousness that any one was close 
to him. 

It is related that a certain Tartar, Jenghis 
Khan, who founded the Mogul and Kalmuck 
empire, " had taken refuge from his enemies in 
a thicket. They followed with hot pursuit, and 
Dame straight upon his hiding-place; but there 
s;it a guardian cherub, in the shape of this noble 
bird; and they, believing that it would never 
rest quiet if any man wore hidden near, passed 
by with unbloodicd cimeters. In the silence 
of the ensuing night, the Khan made Ins way to 



92 FIRESIDE READING. 

his delighted followers, told them the cause of 
his safety, and filled them with a reverential 
love for the bird, that became national." Mr. 
Brown gives the same anecdote, and ascribes 
it to the snowy owl ; these last-mentioned owls 
are great fish catchers, and dart into the water 
to seize their prey with their claws. A pair 
considerably diminished the number of gold and 
silver fishes kept in a pond; and it has been 
conjectured, that as fishes are attracted by 
light, the large, round, luminous eyes of the 
owls, which shine in the dark, cause the fishes to 
rise to the surface. 

All this tribe of animals, however they may 
differ in their size and plumage, agree in their 
general characteristics of preying by night ; 
their bodies are strong and muscular ; their feet 
and claws made for tearing their prey, and their 
stomachs for digesting it. It must be remarked, 
however, that the digestion of all birds that live 
upon mice, lizards, or such like food, is not 
very perfect; for though they swallow them 
whole, yet they are always seen some time after 
to disgorge the skin and bones rolled up in a 
pellet, as being indigestible. 

As they are incapable of supporting the light 
of the day, or at least of then seeing and 
readily avoiding their danger, they keep all this 
time concealed in some obscure retreat, suited to 



owls. 93 

their gloomy appetites, and there continue in 
solitude and silence. The cavern of a rock, the 
darkest part of a hollow tree, the battlements 
of a ruined, unfrequented castle, or some ob- 
scure hole in a farmer's outhouse, are the places 
where they are usually found : if they be seen 
out of these retreats in the day-time, they may 
be considered as having lost their way ; as hav- 
ing, by some accident, been thrown into the 
midst of their enemies, and surrounded with 
danger. 

In this distress they are obliged to take shel- 
ter in the first tree or hedge that offers, there to 
continue concealed all day, till the returning 
darkness once more supplies them with a better 
plan of the country. But it too often happens 
that, with all their precaution to conceal them- 
selves, they are spied out by the other birds of 
the place, and are sure to receive no mercy. 
The blackbird, the thrush, the jay, the bunting, 
and the redbreast, all come in file, and employ 
their little arts of insult and abuse. The small- 
est, the feeblest, and the most contemptible of 
this unfortunate bird's enemies are then the 
foremost to injure and torment him. They in- 
crease their cries and turbulence round him, 
flap him with their wings, and are ready to show 
their courage to be great, as they are sensible 
that their danger is but small. The unfortunate 



94 FIRESIDE READING. 

owl, not knowing where to attack, or whither to 
fly, patiently sits and suffers all their insults. 
Astonished and dizzy, he only replies to their 
mockeries by awkward and ridiculous gestures, 
by turning his head, and rolling his eyes with 
an air of stupidity. It is enough that an owl 
appears by day to set the whole grove into a 
kind of an uproar. Either the aversion all the 
small birds have to this animal, or the con- 
sciousness of their own security, makes them 
pursue him without ceasing, while they encour- 
age each other by their mutual cries to lend as- 
sistance in their laudable undertaking. 

It sometimes happens, however, that the little 
birds pursue their insults with the same impru- 
dent zeal with which the owl himself had pur- 
sued his depredations. They hunt him the 
whole day till evening returns ; which, restoring 
him his faculties of sight once more, he makes 
the foremost of his pursuers pay dear for their 
former sport ; nor is man always an uncon- 
cerned spectator here. The bird catchers have 
got an art ' of counterfeiting the cry of an owl 
exactly; and, having before limed the branches 
of a hedge, they sit unseen, and give the call. 
At this, all the little birds flock to the place 
where they expect to find their well-known 
enemy; but, instead of finding their stupid an- 
tagonist, they are stuck fast to the hedge them- 



owls. 95 

selves. This sport must be put in practice an 
hour before nightfall, in order to be successful ; 
for if it is put off till later, those birds which 
but a few minutes sooner came to provoke their 
enemy, will then fly from him with as much ter- 
ror as they just before showed insolence. 

It is not unpleasant to see one stupid bird 
made in some sort a decoy to deceive another. 
The great horned owl is sometimes made use of 
for this purpose, to lure the kite, when the fal- 
coner desires to catch him for the purpose of 
training the falcon. Upon this occasion, they 
clap the tail of a fox to the great owl, to ren- 
der his figure extraordinary ; in which trim he 
sails slowly along, flying low, which is his usual 
manner. The kite, either curious to observe 
this odd kind of animal, or perhaps inquisitive 
to see whether it may not be proper for food, 
flies after, and comes nearer and nearer. In 
this manner he continues to hover, and some- 
times to descend, till the falconer, setting a 
strong-winged hawk against him, seizes him 
for the purpose of training his young ones at 
home. 

The usual place where the great horned owJ 
breeds is in the cavern of a rock, the hollow of 
a tree, or the turret of some ruined castle. Its 
nest is near three feet in diameter, and com- 
posed of sticks, bound together by the fibrous 



96 FIRESIDE READING. 

roots of trees, and lined with leaves on the in- 
side. It lays about three eggs, which are larger 
than those of a hen, and of a color somewhat 
resembling the bird itself. The lesser owl of 
this kind never makes a nest for itself, but al- 
ways takes up with the old nest of some other 
bird, which it has often been forced to abandon. 
It lays four or five eggs ; and the young are all 
white at first, but change color in about a fort- 
night. The other owls in general build near 
the place where they chiefly prey ; that which 
feeds upon birds, in some neighboring grove; 
that which preys chiefly upon mice, near some 
farmer's yard, where the proprietor of the place 
takes care to give it perfect security. In fact, 
whatever mischief one species of owl may do in 
the woods, the barn owl makes a sufficient recom- 
pense for, by being equally active in destroying 
mice nearer home ; so that a single owl is said 
to be more serviceable than half a dozen cats in 
ridding the barn of its domestic vermin. "In 
the year 1580," says an old writer, a at Hal- 
lontide, an army of mice so overrun the marshes 
near Southminster, that they ate up the grass to 
the very roots. But at length a great number 
of strange painted owls came and devoured all 
the mice. The like happened again in Essex, 
about sixty years after." 



SECTION II. 
INSESSORIAL, OR PERCHING BIRDS. 

(INSESSORES. PASSERES.) 

A LARGE assemblage of birds of appar- 
ently different kinds, are included in the 
above appellation. They differ in form, plu- 
mage, flight, habits, and food; and yet they 
have a sufficient resemblance among themselves 
to justify naturalists in throwing them all into 
one large group. Their peculiar, firm manner 
of perching when asleep has obtained for them 
the name of perchers; and this, and the un- 
fledged condition of their young when they are 
hatched, are common and invariable characters. 
Almost every naturalist has endeavored to 
subdivide this numerous collection of birds into 
something like a serial order ; and no two plans, 
so far as we have seen, arc exactly alike. Our 
limits will allow us to take only a few examples 
from this group. We shall, therefore, look 
around only for those which are consonant witk 

our general design in these volumes. 

7 97 d 



I. 

(CURRUCA.) 

THE "warblers" are a very numerous genus, 
including upward of one hundred and fifty 
species, most of them — as the name may serve 
to intimate — distinguished for the excellence of 
their music. Of these, the first rank is cer- 
tainly due to the nightingale. This most fa- 
mous of the feathered tribe visits England in 
the beginning of April, and leaves it in Sep- 
tember. It is found but in some of the south- 
ern parts of that country, being totally unknown 
in Scotland, Ireland, or North Wales. They 
frequent thick hedges and low coppices, and 
generally keep in the middle of the bush, so 
that they are rarely seen. It is not by the 
beauty of his plumage that this universally-ad- 
mired bird has become a general favorite, and 
the theme of almost every poet ; for he is one 
of those warblers which are the most humbly 
attired. He is about six inches long, and the 

upper part of his body is of a rusty brown, 
98 



NIGHTINGALES. 99 

tinged with olive ; the under parts are of a pale 
ash color, almost white at the throat and belly. 
But in his song he surpasses all the choristers 
of the air, his notes being exquisitely varied, 
soft, and harmonious, and rendered still more 
pleasing by their being poured forth in the 
night, when the other warblers are all silent. 
They begin their song in the evening, and gen- 
erally continue for the whole night. For weeks 
together, if undisturbed, they sit upon the same 
tree ; and Shakspeare rightly describes the 
nightingale, sitting nightly in the same place. 
In a calm evening he may be heard to the dis- 
tance of more than half a mile. 

In the beginning of May, the nightingale pre- 
pares to make its nest, which is formed of the 
leaves of trees, straw, and moss. The nest, 
being very eagerly sought after, is as cunningly 
secreted ; so that but very few of them are found 
by the boys when they go upon these pursuits. 
It is built at the bottom of hedges, where the 
bushes are thickest and best covered. While 
the female continues sitting, the male, at a good 
distance, but always within hearing, cheers the 
patient hour with his voice, and, by the short 
interruption of his song, often gives her warn- 
ing of approaching danger. She lays four or 
five eggs, of which but a part, in the cold cli- 
mate of England, come to maturity. 



100 FIRESIDE READING. 

The delicacy, or ratter the fame, of this 
bird's music has induced many to abridge its 
liberty to secure its harmony. Its song, how- 
ever, in captivity is not so very alluring; and 
the tyranny of taking it from those hedges, 
where only it is most pleasing, still more depre- 
ciates its imprisoned efforts. Gesner assures us, 
that it is not only the most agreeable songster 
in a cage, but that it is possessed of a most ad- 
mirable faculty of talking. He tells the fol- 
lowing rather doubtful story in proof of his 
assertion, which he says was communicated to 
him by a friend. " While I was at Ratisbon," 
says his correspondent, " I put up at an inn, the 
sign of the Golden Crown, where my host had 
three nightingales. It happened at that time, 
being the spring of the year, when those birds 
are accustomed to sing, that I was so afflicted 
with the stone that I could sleep very little all 
night. It was usual then, about midnight, to 
hear the two nightingales jangling, and talking 
with each other, and plainly imitating men's dis- 
courses. Besides repeating the daily discourse 
of the guests, they chanted out two stories. 
One of their stories was concerning the tapster 
and his wife, who refused to follow him to the 
wars as he desired her ; for the husband endeav- 
ored to persuade his wife, as far as I understood 
by the birds, that he would leave his service in 



NIGHTINGALES. 101 

that inn, and go to the wars in hopes of plun- 
der. But she refused to follow him, resolving to 
stay either at Ratisbon, or go to Nuremberg. 
There was a long and earnest contention be- 
tween them ; and all this dialogue the birds re- 
peated. They even repeated the unseemly 
words which were cast out between them, and 
which ought rather to have been suppressed, 
and, in fact, altogether kept a secret. The 
other story was concerning the war which the 
emperor was then threatening against the Prot- 
estants ; which the birds probably heard from 
some of the generals that had conferences in 
the house. These things did they repeat in 
the night after twelve o'clock, when there was 
a deep silence. But in the day-time, for the 
most part, they were silent, and seemed to do 
nothing but meditate and revolve with them- 
selves upon what the guests conferred together 
as they sat at table, or what subjects they talked 
upon in their walks." 

" In the lime-tree avenues of the Jar din des 
Plantes in Paris," says Mrs. Lee, " a vast flight 
of cockchafers used to assemble about every 
three years, and with them came an immense 
number of nightingales, doubtless to prey upon 
them. I happened to be on the spot during 
one of these triennial visits, and never heard a 
more glorious natural concert than that which 



102 FIRESIDE READING. 

frequently saluted my ears, day and evening, till 
nearly twelve o'clock. People flocked to the 
place to hear the songsters, who were not intim- 
idated by company, and they continued their 
strains at intervals for at least fourteen hours 
out of the twenty-four. They seemed to utter 
challenges from one end of the avenue to the 
other, and one musician, above all others, 
strained its throat till it seemed impossible it 
should find any more breath to continue dwell- 
ing on one note ; it then suddenly descended to 
the rolling sounds. Often it would stop and 
listen, and the challenge would be answered, 
and then most of the performers would be 
roused, and all sing together." 

Nightingales are very sensible to the sound 
of musical instruments. Dr. Stanley says, that 
"the German hymn, played upon a flute very 
softly, near a bush in which there was a nest, 
soon attracted the attention of the birds. 
Scarcely was the air finished, than the cock 
was heard to chirp ; and when played a second 
time, it was seen to hop through the bushes 
with great quickness toward the place where 
the player stood, at the same time making a 
sort of sub-warbling, which it soon changed 
into its usual beautiful and lengthened song." 
They with difficulty accustom themselves to 
cages ; and, " if a male bird be taken after his 



NIGHTINGALES. 103 

song has won for him a partner, he hardly ever 
survives, and dies, as the inevitable result, bro- 
ken-hearted." 



II. 

%\t %M% or $ritairt. 

(SYLVI^L.) 

rpHIS well-known bird is familiar to almost 
X every body. Innumerable thousands of 
them are seen in the lower parts of the whole 
Atlantic states, from New Hampshire to Caro- 
lina. They migrate, to avoid the deep snows 
from north to south and from west to east 
The robin builds a large nest on an apple-tree 
plasters it with mud, and lines it with fine grass 
His principal food is worms, berries, and cater 
pillars. When berries fail, they disperse them 
selves over the fields, and along the fences, in 
search of worms and other insects. 

The robin is one of our earliest songsters; 
even in March, while snow yet dapples the field, 
some few will mount a post or stake of the 
fence, and make short and frequent attempts at 
a song. His notes in spring are universally 
known, and as universally beloved. They are 
as it were the prelude to the grand general con- 
cert that is about to burst upon us, from woods, 
104 



THE ROBIN. 105 

fields, and thickets, whitened with blossoms, and 
breathing fragrance. By the usual association 
of ideas, we therefore listen with more pleasure 
to this cheerful bird, than to many others of 
far superior powers, and much greater variety. 
Even his nest is held more sacred among school- 
boys than that of some others; and while they 
exult in plundering a jay's or a cat-bird's, a 
general sentiment of respect prevails on the 
discovery of a robin's. He possesses much su- 
avity of manners ; and almost always seeks 
shelter for his young in summer, and subsist- 
ence for himself in the extremes of winter, near 
the habitations of man. 

Though the redbreast is generally admired 
for his song, he is still more admired for his at- 
tachment to, and confidence in mankind. In 
all countries, he is a favorite, and has what may 
be called a pet name. The inhabitants of Born- 
holm call him Tommi Liden, the Norwegians, 
Peter Ronsmed, the Germans, Thomas Gtierdet, 
and in our country he is known as Robin Red- 
breast, or by the still more familiar appellation 
of Bob. Buffon describes with his usual ele- 
gance the winter manners of this bird: "In 
that season," says he, "they visit our dwellings, 
and seek the warmest and most sheltered sit na- 
tions ; and if any one happens still to continue 
in the woods, it becomes the companion of the 



106 FIRESIDE READING. 

fagot-maker, cherishes itself at his fire, pecks 
at his bread, and flutters the whole day round 
him, chirping its slender pip. But when the 
cold grows more severe, and thick snow covers 
the ground, it approaches our houses, and taps 
at the windows with its bill, as if to entreat an 
asylum, which is cheerfully granted ; and it re- 
pays the favor by the most amiable familiarity, 
gathering the crumbs from the table, distin- 
guishing affectionately the people of the house, 
and assuming a warble, not indeed so rich as 
that in the spring, but more delicate. This it 
retains through all the rigors of the season, to 
hail each day the kindness of its host." 

This habit gave origin to that beautiful tribute 
to "The Robin," by Miss Strickland: 

"A thousand birds, in joyous tone, 

Proclaimed the hirth of spring ; 
But, robin, thou are left alone 

The autumn dirge to sing. 

We hear the merry linnet's voice 

When waving woods look green, 
And thrush and nightingale rejoice 

When hawthorn buds are seen. 

But when they wither on the ground, 

Then, robin, thou art heard 
To mourn their fall, in plaintive sound, 

For thou ai*t pity's bird. 

Where fading leaves their shadows fling, 

I love to see thee nigh ; 
A listener, when I touch the string, 

And warbling in reply." 



THE ROBIN. 107 

Captain Brown informs us that, u during a 
severe storm, a robin came to the window of 
the room where his father usually sat, and he 
opened the window, to give it some crumbs. 
Instead of flying away, it hopped into the room, 
and picked the crumbs from the floor. His 
father, being very fond of animals, took great 
pleasure in taming this bird ; and so completely 
succeeded, that it would pick small pieces of 
raw flesh and worms from his hand, sat on the 
table at which he wrote, and, when the day was 
very cold, perched upon the fender. When a 
stranger entered, it flew to the top of a door, 
where it perched every night. The window was 
frequently opened to admit air; but the robin 
never offered to go away. As the spring ad- 
vanced, and the weather became fine, it flew 
away every morning, and returned every even- 
ing, till the time of incubation arrived ; and it 
then flew away altogether. At the next fall 
of the year, it again asked for admittance, and 
behaved exactly in the same manner as before. 
It did this a third time ; but when it flew away 
the ensuing spring, it was never seen again." 

Some years ago, a pair of robins took up 
their abode in the parish church of Hampton, 
in Warwickshire, and affixed their nest to the 
church-Bible, as it lay on the reading-desk. 
The vicar would not allow the birds to be dis- 



108 FIRESIDE READING. 

turbed, and therefore provided for his use an- 
other Bible. 

A similar instance occurred in Wiltshire ; 
when the clerk, on looking for the lessons of 
the day — the 13th of April — perceived some- 
thing under the Bible — which rested on a raised 
ledge — and there was a robin's nest, containing 
two eggs. The bird was not disturbed, and laid 
four more, which were hatched on the 4th of 
May. The cock bird actually brought food in 
its bill, and fed the young brood during divine 
service, occasioning, as one might readily im- 
agine, a very considerable fluttering in the con- 
gregation by his peculiarly bold and audacious 
conduct. 

"A gardener, in the service of a friend of 
mine," says Mrs. Lee, "had encouraged the 
visits of a robin ; but was one day surprised at 
the pertinacity with which the bird followed and 
hovered about him, even perching upon his 
shoulders, then going a short distance and ap- 
pearing to wait for him, returning when he did 
not follow. At last it struck him that his little 
friend might be asking for assistance, and he 
walked in the direction apparently indicated by 
the bird. At last the robin stopped at a flower- 
pot, in which it had built its nest, and uttered a 
cry. The gardener then perceived that a snake 
had coiled itself round the pot, and, as yet, had 



4 THE ROBIN. 109 

done no mischief to the young birds. He, of 
course, destroyed the intruder, and received the 
most grateful flutterings and song in return." 

The Gardener's Chronicle affords a curious 
instance of the effect which education will pro- 
duce on a bird of this kind ; and no doubt many 
similar instances might be brought forward. "A 
gentleman," says the narrator of the story, "in- 
formed me that a friend of his was possessed of 
a most wonderful bird, that he should much like 
me to see and hear. I went at an early day to 
view the prodigy. On entering the house and 
presenting my card, I was at once ushered into 
the drawing-room. I there saw two nightingale 
cages, suspended on the wall ; one of them, with 
a nightingale in it, had an open front ; the other 
had a green curtain drawn over the front, con- 
cealing the inmate. After a little discourse on 
the subject of ornithology, my host asked me 
if I should like to hear one of his nightingales 
sing. Of course I was all expectation. Plac- 
ing me beneath the cage, and drawing up the 
curtain before alluded to, the bird above, at a 
whistle from his master, broke out in a succes 
sion of strains that I never heard surpassed by 
any nightingale. They were indeed surpris- 
ingly eloquent. 'What a nightingale!' ejacu- 
lated I. The rapid utterance of the bijrd, Ins 
perfect abandon to the inspiration of his muse. 



110 FIRESIDE READING. 

and his indifference to all around him, caused 
me involuntarily to exclaim, in the language 
of Coleridge: 

4 That strain again ! 
Full fain it would delay me !' 

And so it did. I stood riveted to the spot, 
knowing how seldom nightingales in a cage so 
deported themselves. After listening some time, 
and expressing my astonishment at the long- 
repeated efforts of the performer, so unusual, I 
asked to be allowed a sight of him. Permission 
was granted, and I saw before me — a robin. 
This bird had been brought up under the night- 
ingale from his very earliest infancy, and not 
only equaled, but very far surpassed his master 
in song. The robin retained no one single note 
of his own whereby the finest ear could detect 
him ; and this paves the way to still more sin- 
gular discoveries hereafter. 

"The chiff-chaff, another sylvia, is equally 
capable as the robin of being tamed; and lov- 
ers of birds need not always keep these pretty 
creatures in cages, when gratifying their taste. 
Modified confinement does not seem to affect 
them painfully; for one caught by Mr. Sweet 
took to feeding directly, and learned to drink 
milk out of a spoon. In three or four days it 
took a fly from his hand, and would wing its way 



THE ROBIN. Ill 

round the room after the person who carried 
the spoonful of milk, of which beverage it was 
bo fond, that it would perch upon the hand 
that held the spoon, without manifesting the 
least fear. 

"At last the confiding little bird became so 
very tame, that it would sit and sleep on Mr. 
Sweet's knee by the fire ; and when the windows 
were open it never attempted to fly out. ... It 
was with difficulty that the bird was induced 
to come out at the door into the garden, by 
the lure of its favorite spoonful of milk ; twice 
it returned into the room; the third time it 
flew into a little tree, from which it came and 
perched on Mr. Sweet's hand, and drank milk 
out of the spoon : from thence it flew to the 
ground on some chick-weed, where it washed 
itself, and got into a holly-bush to dry. Here 
it is supposed the instinct of migration over- 
came every thing else, for Mr. Sweet did not 
see it any more, though he heard it call several 
times. 'I suppose,' says he, 'that it left the 
country, as I could never see or hear it after- 
ward ; and it was then the end of November.' ' 



III. 

% iWung-Sirir. 

THIS celebrated and extraordinary bird is not 
only peculiar to the new world, but inhab- 
its a very considerable portion of both North 
and South America. It well deserves its tech- 
nical name of Orpheus Polyglottus, for it is an 
Orpheus among feathered musicians, and its 
notes embrace not only every variety exhibited 
by others, but even sounds made by men and 
quadrupeds: such as the rumbling of a wheel- 
barrow, the barking of a dog, the mewing of a 
cat, etc. Wilson says, it is sober-colored, but 
very elegant in its shape, and easy and rapid in 
its movements. It takes lessons from all the 
songsters that come within its hearing ; its voice 
is full, strong, and musical, and capable of al- 
most every modulation. Its native notes are 
bold, full, and of unlimited variety. All who 
have ever heard it, and who are sensible to such 
things, speak of it with enthusiasm, and one 

gentleman thus expresses himself: "He bounds 
112 



THE MOCKING-BIRD. 113 

aloft with the celerity of an arrow, as if to re- 
cover or recall his very soul, expired in the last 
elevated strain. He many times deceives the 
sportsman, and sends him in search of birds that 
may be many miles from him ; and even birds 
themselves are deceived by him ; fancy they 
hear the call of their mates, or precipitately fly 
into the deepest thickets, from what they sup- 
pose to be the pursuit of the hawk. The ear 
listens to his music alone, for he improves on 
the songs of others while he imitates them. He 
repeats the tunes which his master has taught 
him, and runs over the quiverings of his asso- 
ciates in the woods, till feeling their own in- 
feriority, they become silent. Both in his na- 
tive and domesticated state, during the solemn 
stillness of night, as soon as the moon rises in 
silent majesty, he begins his delightful solo, and 
serenades during the livelong night with a full 
display of his vocal powers, making the whole 
neighborhood ring with his inimitable medley." 
The mocking-bird loses little of the power 
and energy of his song by confinement. In his 
domesticated state, when he commences his 
career of song, it is impossible to stand by un- 
interested. He whistles for the dog ; Civsar 
starts up, wags his tail, and runs to meet his 
master. He squeaks out like a hurt chicken, and 
the hen hurries about with hanging wings, and 
8 n 



114 FIRESIDE READING. 

bristling feathers, clucking to protect her injured 
brood. The barking of the dog, the mewing of 
the cat, the creaking of the passing wheelbar- 
row, follow with great truth and rapidity. He 
repeats the tune taught him by his master, 
though of considerable length, fully and faith- 
fully. He runs over the quiverings of the 
canary, and the clear whistlings of the Virginia 
nightingale, or redbird, with such superior exe- 
cution and effect, that the mortified songsters 
feel their own inferiority, and become silent, 
while he seems to triumph in their defeat by re- 
doubling his exertions. 

This excessive fondness for variety, however, 
in the opinion of some, injures his song. His 
elevated imitations of the brown thrush, are 
frequently interrupted by the crowing of cocks ; 
and the warblings of the blue-bird, which he 
exquisitely manages, are mingled with the 
screaming of swallows, or the cackling of hens : 
amidst the simple melody of the robin, we are 
suddenly surprised hj the reiterations of the 
whippowil; while the notes of the killdeer, 
blue jay, martin, Baltimore, and twenty others, 
succeed with such imposing reality, that we look 
round for the originals, and discover, with as- 
tonishment, that the sole performer in this sin- 
gular concert is the admirable bird before us. 

This description, although much abridged 



THE MOCKING-BIRD. 115 

from Wilson's writings, leaves but little more to 
say of this wonderful bird, except that it is as 
perfect a parent as a songster ; and when it 
builds its nest near a human habitation, neither 
cat, dog, nor man can approach it without being 
furiously attacked. 



IV. 

%\t Mm. 

(eegulus.) 

"Why is the cuckoo's melody preferred, 
And nightingale's rich song so fondly praised 
In poets' rhymes ? Is there no other bird 
Of nature's minstrelsy, that oft hath raised 
One's heart to ecstasy and mirth so well ? 
I judge not how another's taste is caught ; 
With mine are other birds that bear the bell, 
Whose song hath crowds of happy memories brought ; 
Such the wood-robin, singing in the dell, 
And little wren, that many a time hath sought 
Shelter from showers in huts, where I may dwell, 
In early spring, the tenant of the plain, 
Tending my sheep : and still they come to tell 
The happy stories of the past again." 

THIS liliputian songster is a native of every-- 
part of Europe. The golden-crested wren, 
which is the smallest of the species, weighs only 
eighty grains. The wren is admired for the 
loudness of its note, compared with the little 
body whence it issues. It will carol forth its 
strains unconcerned during a fall of snow. It 
sings very late in the evening, though not, like 
the nightingale, after the landscape is enveloped 
in darkness. 
116 



THE WREN. 117 

"An intelligent lad," showed a nest of one 
of these birds which had been built in a yew 
hedge, and " took out one of the young ones, 
then nearly fledged. After it had been viewed 
and admired — for it was very pretty, as most 
young birds are not — he replaced the tiny 
creature, and, to the inquiry whether the par- 
ents would not forsake the nest if so disturbed, 
he replied in the negative, adding that they 
were old acquaintances, and ■ didn't mind,' for 
he often took the young ones out to i see how 
they got on.' As soon as the nestling was re- 
turned to its happy home, the parent, that had 
been watching the proceedings from a neighbor- 
ing rhododendron, gorgeous with flowers, among 
which her small bright streak of a crest still 
shone brilliantly, repaired to her family, and 
covered them with her wings, as if nothing had 
happened." 

The Reverend and Honorable W. Herbert 
says that, in confinement, the least cold is fatal 
to them. He had half a dozen golden wrens at 
the beginning of winter, in a cage, and " at 
roosting time there was always a whimsical con- 
flict among them for inside places, as being the 
warmest, which ended, of course, by the weakest 
going to the wall. The scene began with a low 
whistling call among them to roost; ami the two 
birds on the extreme right and left Hew on the 



118 FIRESIDE READING. 

backs of those in the center, and squeezed 
themselves into the middle. A fresh couple 
from the flanks immediately renewed the attack 
upon the center, and the conflict continued till 
the light began to fail them. A severe frost in 
February killed all but one of them in one 
night, though in a furnished drawing-room. 
The survivor was preserved in a little cage, by 
burying it every night under the sofa cushions ; 
but having been, one sharp morning, taken from 
under them before the room was sufficiently 
warmed, though perfectly well when removed, it 
was dead in ten minutes." 

In the "Field Naturalist" is a curious ac- 
count of the fearlessness and perseverance of a 
willow-wren, which Mr. Yarrell tells us has a 
very soft, pleasing song. A lady, when walking 
in an orchard, saw something like a large ball 
of dried grass upon the ground, which she found 
was the domed nest of the willow-wren. Re- 
gretting her precipitation, she restored it as 
nearly as possible to its place, and the next 
minute its occupier proceeded with its work. In 
a few days two eggs were laid, and then came 
some splay-footed ducks, and with their shovels 
of bills spread the nest open, displaced the eggs, 
and left the nest a ruin. The lady drove away 
the ducks, tried to restore the nest to its proper 
form, and replaced the eggs. On that same 



THE WREN. 119 

day an additional egg was laid, and in about a 
week four more. The birds sat, and brought up 
all seven. 

The wren weighs only three drams, and is 
but four inches in length, from the point of the 
bill to the end of the tail. It constructs its 
nest in a very curious manner — beginning not 
at the bottom, as other birds, but closing the 
sides and top first, leaving a small oval hole in 
the side for an entrance. The nest is of very 
delicate texture, and is lined with down. The 
golden-crested wren lays from ten to eighteen 
eggs, which are scarcely larger than peas. The 
nest is frequently formed among the foliage at 
the top of the branch of a fir-tree, where, in 
high winds, it swings forward and backward like 
a pendulum. 

The American house-wren — troglodytes cedon, 
Yieill. — is no less interesting in its archi- 
tectural proceedings. " This well-known and 
familiar bird," says Wilson, "arrives in Penn- 
sylvania about the middle of April; and about 
the 8th of May begins to build its nest, some- 
times in the wooden cornice under the eaves, or 
in a hollow cherry-tree ; but most commonly in 
small boxes, fixed on the top of a pole, in or 
near the garden, to which he is extremely par- 
tial, for the great number of caterpillars and 
other larva) with which it constantly supplies 



120 FIRESIDE READING. 

him. If all these conveniences are wanting, he 
"will even put up with an old hat, nailed on the 
weather-boards, with a small hole for entrance ; 
and if even this be denied him, he will find some 
hole, corner, or crevice about the house, barn, 
or stable, rather than abandon the dwellings of 
man. In the month of June, a mower hung up 
his coat under a shed near a barn; two or three 
days elapsed before he had occasion to put it on 
again ; thrusting his arm up the sleeve he found it 
completely filled with some rubbish, as he ex- 
pressed it, and, on extracting the whole mass, 
found it to be the nest of a wren, completely fin- 
ished, and lined with a large quantity of feathers. 
In his retreat, he was followed by the little for- 
lorn proprietors, who scolded him with great ve- 
hemence for thus ruining the whole economy of 
their household affairs. The twigs, with which 
the outward parts of the nest are constructed, 
are short and crooked, that they may the better 
hook in with one another, and the hole, or en- 
trance, is so much shut up to prevent the in- 
trusion of snakes or cats, that it appears almost 
impossible the body of the bird could be ad- 
mitted.* 

c Wilson, Amer. Ornith. i, 130. 



V. 



(hyrundo.) 

"Gay birds of summer! you we hail, 
While coming from beyond the sea. 
Where flowers adorn the dewy vale, 
And blossoms hang upon the tree. 

Gay birds ! ye visit us when bright 

The summer sun in glory shines ; 
But from our fields ye take your flight, 

When autumn day by day declines. 

And so, like you, we often find 

That those in fortune's golden day, 
Who seemed companions, loving, kind, 

When storms arise, will flee away." 

SWALLOWS, swifts, and martins, are the 
close companions of man. Their song, 
though pleasing, is feeble. They migrate 
yearly, and return to the same place in which 
they build their nests, having traversed more 
than half the globe during their absence. They 
arc, generally speaking, great favorites every- 
where ; and Wilson tells us, that the barn swal- 
low is supposed to preserve from lightning whftt- 
ever building it may inhabit. The communities 

121 



122 FIRESIDE READING. 

of swallows, though, large, are in general peace- 
ful and friendly with each other; hut an in- 
stance is given to the contrary by a gentleman 
at Blois, in France. " A pair had built their 
nest in the corner of my window; one of them 
being the same which had visited the place the 
previous year, I knowing it from a remarkable 
white feather in one of its wings. As soon as 
all seemed finished, my attention was arrested 
by a great noise and bustle at the nest, caused 
by a stranger of the same family of birds trying 
to force its way into the nest at the time the 
rightful tenants were within; and, notwith- 
standing their united efforts, he succeeded in 
entering and driving them out. This same war- 
fare and similar expulsions took place daily for 
a week or more. One day the two rightful 
owners of the nest were very busy outside, and 
I soon perceived that they were engaged in les- 
sening the entrance ; in fact, they soon reduced 
it so much that they could scarcely force them- 
selves into it singly. As soon as done, one or 
other constantly placed itself at the hole, with 
its bill visibly protruding: and though the in- 
truder made regular attacks upon them for a 
week or more, he never afterward made any im- 
pression on them, and finally left them to enjoy 
the reward of so much sagacity and fore- 
thought." 



SWALLOWS. 123 

Some swallows congregate in outhouses, 
church-steeples, and dwelling-houses ; others 
place their nests on the ledges, and in the 
crevices of the rocks ; and others again bore 
holes in sand-banks, in which they live, and these 
are called sand-martins. 

The esculent swallow of India and her archi- 
pelago, is so named on account of its nest being 
edible. M. Lamouroux says, that the best of 
these nests are clean and white, but very insipid 
in taste. Some say they are formed of marine 
plants ; others of fishes' spawn, inspissated sea- 
foam, the juice of a tree; and others again of 
some molluscous animal. The substance itself 
is doubtless cemented by the viscid secretion 
possessed by swallows. They are often fixed to 
the sides of caverns near the sea, like watch- 
pockets, and the taking of them is attended by 
much danger* Of whatever "they may be 
formed, they boil to a jelly, and are said to be 
highly nutritious; they are lined with feathers, 
look like coarse isinglass, and form a valuable 
item in the trade with Ohina ; 27,000 lbs. being 
annually exported from Java alone, and 30,000 
tuns of Chinese shipping carrying on the 
traffic. 

Of the courageous disposition of the shallow, 
we find a proof in the Magazine of Natural 
History. The narrator of the anecdote says: 



124 FIRESIDE READING. 

" Swallows were, and are, allowed to build in 
outhouses, belonging to niy father; the house- 
cat would often bask in the sun beside the out- 
houses, when the swallows always testified their 
detestation of her by flying over her head in a 
rapid, sweeping curve, almost touching her in 
its lowest inclination ; and they shrieked their 
hatred as they flew. The cat was young and 
playful, and annoyed them in return by catch- 
ing at them as they passed : this time they 
would fly in front of her, next time behind her, 
and this alternation kept her oscillating, as it 
were, as her hind-quarters lay on the ground, 
from side to side. Now and then, as if enraged 
by their pertinacity and her own want of suc- 
cess, she would spring up into the air at them 
as they passed, with her best vigor and agility, 
but I never knew her to catch one." Other 
writers say, that the dauntless bravery of the 
swallow makes it one of the most vigilant vi- 
dettes for the safety of the feathered race. 

A serious charge is brought against these 
wandering birds, neither more nor less than that 
of desertion of their young, when the period of 
migration returns. Dr. Jenner relates, that a 
pair of martins hatched four broods in one year, 
the last coming into existence the last of Oc- 
tober, when, as they were incapable of flying, 
the old birds left them half-fledged to die. They 



SWALLOWS. 125 

returned to the same nest the next year, and 
threw out the skeletons. Self-preservation alone 
will account for this fact ; for they themselves 
must have died when the frost came, had they 
staid. 

Captain Brown tells us of a hen-swallow, 
whose mate was shot, which so enraged her that 
she flew at the sportsman, struck him in the 
face with her wing, and actually flew round him, 
screaming with rage. Whenever the gentleman 
walked out he was met by the swallow, who 
never failed to attack him, except indeed on 
Sundays, when, from being differently dressed, 
it was supposed she did not recognize him. 

"A swallow's nest, built in the corner of a 
window, was so much softened by rain, that it 
would not support the weight of five half-grown 
swallows ; and, during a storm, it fell into the 
lower corner of the window, leaving the young 
brood exposed. To save the little creatures 
from an untimely death, the owner of the house 
caused a covering to be thrown over them, till 
the severity of the storm was past. No sooner 
had it subsided than the sages of the colony as- 
sembled, fluttering round the window, and hov- 
ering over the temporary cover of the fallen 
nest. As soon as this was observed, the cover- 
ing was removed, and the utmost joy evinced by 
the group on finding the young ones alive and 



126 FIRESIDE READING. 

unhurt. After feeding them, the members of 
the community arranged themselves in working 
order. Each division, taking its appropriate 
station, commenced instantly to work, and before 
nightfall they had completed an arched can- 
opy over the young brood, in the corner where 
they lay, and put them in security. It is prob- 
able that they would have perished from cold 
and hunger before any single pair could have ex- 
ecuted the task." 

The swallow kind comprehends about thirty- 
seven species. All of them have bills which are 
short, broad at the bent, small at the point, and 
slightly curved. Their tongue is short, broad, 
and cloven, the nostrils are open, and the mouth 
is wide. Except in one species, the wings are 
long, and the tail is forked. They have short, 
slender legs, and the toes are placed three before 
and one behind, with the exception of four spe- 
cies, in which the toes are all placed forward. 
They have a peculiar twittering voice, fly with 
extreme rapidity, scarcely ever walk, and per- 
form all their functions while they are on the 
wing or sitting. Their plumage is glossed with 
a rich purple. 

To the martins, and other small birds, the 
swallow announces the approach of birds of 
prey. By a shrill, alarming note, he summons 
around him all his own species and the martins, 



SWALLOWS. 127 

as soon as an owl or hawk appears. The whole 
band then pursue and strike their enemy till 
they expel him from the place; darting down on 
his back, and rising in a perpendicular line with 
perfect security. 



VI. 

%\t % sri 

(ALAUDA.) 

" Mount, child of morning ! mount and sing, 
And gayly beat thy fluttering wing, 

And sound thy shrill alarms ; 
Bathed in the fountains of the dew, 
Thy sense is keen, thy joys are new ; 
The wide world opens to thy view, 

And spreads its earliest charms. 

Far showered around, the hill, the plain, 
Catch the glad impulse of thy strain, 

And fling their vail aside, 
While warm with hope and rapturous joy, 
Thy thrilling lay rings cheerily, 
Love swells its notes, and liberty, 

And youth's exulting pride." — Mrs. Barbauld. 

ONE of the most universal inhabitants of the 
earth and sky, one of the most cheerful 
and one of the most loved, is the lark. The 
lark genus includes about twenty-eight species, 
all of them distinguished by the length of their 
heel. The great-crested lark, the calandre 
lark, the white-winged lark, the black lark, 
and some others, are found in different parts 

of Europe, but do not visit Britain. The sky- 

128 



THE LARK. 129 

lark, which is the most common, the woodlark, 
the titlark, the field-lark, which is larger than 
the former, but less than the skylark; the red 
lark, and the small-crested lark, which is, how- 
ever, very uncommon, are all British birds. 
They are all song-birds ; but their music in con- 
finement is much inferior to what it is when 
possessed of its native liberty. The music, 
indeed, of every bird in captivity produces no 
very pleasing sensations ; it is but the mirth of 
a little animal insensible of its unfortunate situ- 
ation ; it is the landscape, the grove, the golden 
break of day, the contest upon the hawthorn, 
the fluttering from branch to branch, the soar- 
ing in the air, and the answering of its young, 
that gives the bird's song its true relish. These 
united improve each other, and raise the mind 
to a state of the highest, yet most harmless 
exultation. 

The song of the lark commences early in the 
spring, and continues throughout the summer, 
but is chiefly heard in the morning and evening. 
The lark ascends almost perpendicularly, and 
by successive springs, into the air, and hovers 
there at such a vast Light as often to be invis- 
ible, though its notes are clearly heard. It is 
one of the few birds that pour forth their song 
while on the wing. 

The meadow-lark, the brown lark, and the 



130 FIRESIDE READING. 

shore-lark, or skylark, as it is known in some 
places, are the American species of this genus. 
The meadow-lark, though it can not boast of 
the powers of song which distinguish that " har- 
binger of day," the skylark of Europe, is vastly 
its superior in richness of plumage, and, so far 
as its few notes extend, is also eminently its 
superior in sweetness of voice. This species 
extends from Upper Canada to ISTew Orleans. 

"No wonder," says Mrs. Lee, " that the lark 
is so much beloved by every true-born native of 
old England — recalling such images, as it does, 
of our own dear country, and frequently of 
those happy scenes of childhood which were 
passed in the fields. Toiling under the hot sun 
of the tropics, what a thrill of delight shoots 
across the wanderer, as the lark over his head 
reminds him of the cool glades of home. Stiff- 
ened with the climate of the frozen zone, the 
heart expands to the recollection of golden corn- 
fields and verdant meadows, awakened by the 
clear and happy carol of this songster. At the 
first dawn of day it is up and stirring, rising 
perpendicularly into the clear, blue heaven, and 
continuing to be heard long after it is invisible." 

It is so impossible not to feel the truth of Mr. 
Broderip's remarks on the caging of larks, that 
we can not avoid quoting them. "Of all the 
unhallowed instances," says the above gentle- 



THE LARK. 131 

man, " of bird incarceration, the condemnation 
of the skylark to perpetual imprisonment is 
surely the most repugnant to every good feel- 
ing. The bird, while his happy brethren are 
caroling far up in the sky, as if they would 
storm heaven itself with their rush of song, just 
at the joyous season 

' When wheat is green, when hawthorn buds appear,' 

is doomed to pine in some dingy street. There, 
in a den with a solid wooden roof, painted green, 
outside, and white, glaring white, within — 
which, in bitter mockery, is called a 'skylark's 
cage ' — he keeps winnowing his wretched wings, 
and beating his breast against the wires, pant- 
ing for one — only, one — upward flight into the 
free air. To delude him into the recollection 
that there are such places as the fields, which 
he is beginning to forget, they cut what they 
call a ■ turf ' — a turf dug up in the vicinity of 
this smoke-canopied Babel of bricks, redolent 
of all its sooty abominations, and bearing all 
the marks of the thousands of tuns of fuel 
which arc now suffered to escape up our chim- 
neys, and fall down again upon our noses, and 
into our lungs — this abominable lump of dirt is 
presented to the skylark as a refreshment for 
his parched feet. Longing for the fresh morning 
dews. Miserable as the winged creature is, he 



132 FIRESIDE READING. 

feels that there is something resembling grass 
under him ; and then the fond wretch looks up- 
ward and warbles, and expects his mate. Is it 
possible to hear and see this desecration of in- 
stinct unmoved ? And yet we endure it every 
spring ; and, moreover, we have our Society for 
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals." 

Larks are, like most other birds, sagacious in 
the protection of their young, as the following 
instance will prove, which is taken from " The 
Naturalist:" "The other day, some mowers 
shaved off the upper part of the nest of a sky- 
lark, without injuring the female, who was sit- 
ting on her young ; still she did not fly away ; 
and the mowers leveled the grass all round her, 
without her taking any notice of their proceed- 
ings. The son of the owner of the crop wit- 
nessed this, and, about an hour afterward, went 
to see if she were safe ; when, to his great sur- 
prise, he found that she had actually constructed 
a dome of dry grass over the nest during the 
interval, leaving an aperture on one side for in- 
gress and egress ; thus endeavoring to secure a 
continuance of the shelter previously supplied 
by the long grass." 

Larks are frequently pursued by hawks, when 
they suddenly drop to the ground like a stone. 
When thus pursued, they will often fly to man 
for refuge — an instance of which is given by 



THE LARK. 133 

Captain Brown. He says that " a gentleman 
was traveling on horseback in the west of Nor- 
folk, when a lark dropped on the pommel of his 
saddle, and spreading its wings in a submissive 
manner, cowered to him. He stopped his horse, 
and sat for some time in astonishment, looking 
at the bird, which he supposed to be wounded. 
But, on endeavoring to take it, the lark crept 
round him, and placed itself behind ; turning 
himself on the saddle to observe it, the poor 
animal dropped between the legs of the horse, 
and remained immovable. It then struck him 
that the poor thing was pursued, and, as the 
last resource, hazarded its safety with him. 
The gentleman looked up, and discovered a 
hawk hovering directly over them ; the poor 
bird again mounted the saddle, under the eye 
of its protector; and the disappointed hawk, 
shifting its station, the little fugitive, watching 
its opportunity, darted over the hedge, and was 
hid in an instant." 

A curious anecdote of the skylark appeared 
in the Northampton Mercury of August, 1851, 
which we here transcribe : " A stoat was making 
its way from an adjoining field, across the road, 
with a young partridge in its mouth, which it 
had killed, when it was pursued and attacked by 
two skylarks and a wagtail. The throe assail- 
ants, acting in concert, rose a little in the air, 



134 FIRESIDE READING. 

then pounced down upon their ruthless enemy, 
repeating their attacks so furiously, that the 
stoat was obliged to abandon his prey. Each 
time he attempted to regain it, they renewed 
their attacks with increased fury, evincing a 
courage which was quite admirable in birds of 
their pacific nature. At length the stoat es- 
pied the narrator of this combat close by ; and 
probably feeling some misgivings as to his safety 
amid so many enemies, he ran off with the ut- 
most speed, leaving the partridge behind." 



VII. 

(fringilla.) 

THE most abundant, the most impudent, the 
most daring of all little birds, are sparrows. 
Wherever we go we see them, and they swarm 
wherever man congregates. Captain Marryat's 
character of them may be easily verified, for 
they almost get under our feet when we walk, 
whether in the country or city. The following 
is an instance of their affection for each other : 
" A pair were in search of a locality for their 
nest; and finding a likely hole in the roof of a 
house, the male bird crept into it, and being in- 
cumbered with broken mortar could not get out 
again. The female, in great distress, tried to 
pull him out, and several birds came twittering 
round to sec what was the matter. The female 
beat them all off, and redoubled her efforts to 
extricate her husband. She laid hold of his 
beak, above the nostrils, with her own beak, and 
pulled so hard that she killed him. Not aware 

of what she had done, she continued to pull, 

135 



136 FIRESIDE READING. 

when a man, who had seen the whole transaction, 
extricated the dead bird for her. His head was 
dreadfully mangled, and the beak of the female 
had penetrated the brain. On passing the place 
an hour afterward, she was seen sitting on the 
spot where the accident had happened, crouched 
together, with her feathers standing up, looking 
like a ball, and the very image of a disconsolate 
widow." 

These birds are great fighters, and Captain 
Brown thus describes a contest in which he was 
an assistant: "About ten years ago, when walk- 
ing along Drummond-place, Edinburgh, two cock 
sparrows which had quarreled, fought most de- 
terminedly on the roof of a house ; one of them 
fell from the ledge, and the other, taking ad- 
vantage of this, flew on the top of him, and 
bore him down to the flags, where they screamed 
and fought like two game-cocks. So intent were 
they on their battle, that I approached, and 
seized them both before they were aware of it; 
and after carrying them a little way, I set them 
both at liberty at the same instant, when they 
again commenced hostilities, and fought their 
battle out in the inclosure among the trees. 
One of them, after a time, fled, and was hotly 
pursued by the other." 

By way of placing them in a more favorable 
light, we give the following remarkable occur- 



THE SPARROW. 137 

rence: "The late Mrs. O'Brien, of Manor 
Place, Chelsea, had a canary which was a par- 
ticular favorite, but whose loud singing often 
obliged her to put him outside of the window, 
among some trees in front of the house. One 
morning during breakfast, when the cage was 
thus placed, a sparrow was observed to fly round 
and round it, to stand upon the top, and to twit- 
ter to the bird within, between whom and itself 
a conversation at length began to ensue. After 
a few moments he flew away, but returned in a 
short time, bearing a worm in his bill, which he 
dropped into the cage, and again flew away. 
Similar presents were received day after day by 
the canary from his generous friend, the spar- 
row, with whom he at length became so inti- 
mate, that he very often received the food thus 
brought into his own bill from that of the spar- 
row. Neighbors hung out their birds to see if 
the sparrow would also feed them, and he ex- 
tended his cares to them ; always, however, pay- 
ing the longest visit to his first friend. He was 
shy to man, always going to a distance if any 
human being approached, but continued his 
visits to his feathered friends till winter, at 
which time he disappeared, and was never scon 
again." 

"A sparrow is not only bold with regard to 
men, but still more so, on particular occasions, 



138 FIRESIDE READING. 

toward other birds. A blackbird used to come 
upon a lawn to forage for worms. One day a 
person saw the blackbird making off with a 
prize, when a sparrow, darting from a thick 
bush close by, assailed the blackbird, and made 
him drop the worm, of which he took immediate 
possession. So singular a circumstance induced 
the observer to look out now and then when 
blackbirds came, and he frequently saw the 
same piratical practice adopted by the sparrow, 
who thus enriched himself by the labors of the 
larger bird." 

A gentleman once stated that when he was a 
boy, he robbed a sparrow's nest of the male 
bird, and put it into a cage. The poor captive 
refused to eat, and died in a few days. The 
marauder then felt some curiosity to see how 
the nest went on without the head of the family, 
and he revisited the spot, where, to his great 
surprise, he found the hen had taken to herself 
another mate, and the family were proceeding 
most happily. The curious part of this is, the 
questions how the female had communicated her 
distress to her new mate; whether she knew if 
the old one were dead; or whether she made 
the presence of the second husband a condi- 
tional agreement, for birds are often very jeal- 
ous. These are mysteries which we can not 
solve. 



VIII. 

% 4aMm\, 

(fringilla,) 

ONE of the most tractable of European birds, 
as well as one of the most beautiful, is the 
goldfinch. It frequents the haunts of men, as 
every piece of waste ground in London will 
testify, especially if any thistles be growing 
there. It lives many years, becomes quite gray 
and feeble from age, and so strong is the belief 
in its self-conceit, that several persons who keep 
it in confinement, place a small looking-glass in 
its cage, that it may gratify its self-admiration. 
The nearer approach to truth, however, is, that 
the poor bird is deluded by the reflection of its 
own image, into the belief that it sees a com- 
panion of its own kind. The translator of the 
famous little book written by Bechstein, u On 
Cage Birds," says, that a lady kept a goldfinch 
in a cage, which never saw her depart but he 
made an effort to follow her, and welcomed Inn- 
return with every mark of delight, testifying 

his pleasure by all sorts of winning gestures. 

" 189 



140 FIRESIDE READING. 

He caressed her finger with low and joyous mur- 
murs, but if any other finger than that of his 
mistress were offered, he pecked it sharply; and 
if hers and that of another person were put to- 
gether into the cage, he always distinguished 
hers, and gave it every mark of preference." 

The two following anecdotes show considerable 
sagacity, and, at the same time, much sociability 
in these birds : " Some goldfinches had built 
their nest on a small branch of an olive-tree ; 
after hatching their brood, the parents perceived 
that the weight of the growing family would 
soon be too great for the strength of the branch 
which supported the nest; in fact, it was begin- 
ning to give way. Something was to be done, 
or the nest would fall ; this was evident to the 
beholders, and equally so to the goldfinches. 
Accordingly, they were observed to fasten, by a 
small string they had picked up, the bending 
twig to a stronger and higher branch of the 
tree, and thus their nest was saved." 

" In the spring of 1827, a goldfinch had been 
lost from a cage which was left hanging up, and 
the door open, in the passage-entrance to a back 
court of a house in a country town in the West 
of England. A female goldfinch was one morn- 
ing found feeding in it, and the door was closed 
upon the prisoner; but, as it appeared to be a 
female, it was shortly after let out again. In 



THE GOLDFINCH. 141 

the course, however, of about two hours, it re- 
turned, and re-entered the cage, when it was 
again shut in, and once more, after a short time, 
released; and these visits were repeated daily 
for a considerable time. She was missing for a 
few days, but then returned, accompanied by a 
male bird, when she entered the cage and fed 
as usual, leaving her companion, who appeared 
rather more shy, sitting on the outside wires 
of the cage, from whence he shortly fled to a 
neighboring tree, till she joined him. They 
then went away, and were absent so long, that 
nobody thought any thing more about them, 
when, at the end of seven or eight weeks, she 
again made her appearance, accompanied, not 
only by her former companion, but by four full- 
grown young ones, when she entered the cage 
and fed as usual, but as she could not persuade 
her brood to follow her example she finally went 
off, and from that time was never seen again." 

A friend of Mrs. Lee, writing to that lady, 
says: "In the winter I saw a wretched gold- 
finch, bare of feathers on the head and greater 
part of the body. It was horrible to look at ; 
but the poor little bird, though apparently in a 
state of great irritation, and frequently biting 
his stumps, sang merrily. The butler, to whom 
he belongs, has now cured him, by giving him a 
little more green food than before, depriving him 



142 FIRESIDE READING. 

of hemp-seed, putting a rusty nail into the water 
which he drank, and allowing him a warm bath 
twice a week ; this last made the little creature 
feel faint for a time ; but he seemed very com- 
fortable when dry, and he is now quite well." 



IX. 

(fringilla canakia.) 

THESE charming songsters, which take their 
name from one of the countries where they 
abound, have been known to continue their 
strains with such strength and ardor in the 
pairing season, that they have burst the deli- 
cate vessels of their lungs, and died suddenly. 
They are universal favorites, and multitudes of 
anecdotes are told of their docility, their attach- 
ment, and their aptitude in learning tricks. 
They not only come from the Canary Islands, 
but from other islands in that part of the At- 
lantic, where they are as numerous as the spar- 
rows in other countries, and are of a dusky, 
greenish-gray hue, tinged with yellow. 

The canary is a social and familiar bird, and 
is capable of contracting an attachment for the 
person to whom it belongs. It will perch on 
the shoulder of its mistress, and peck its food 
from her hand or her mouth. It is also capable 

of being taught still more extraordinary feats, 

143 



144 FIRESIDE READING. 

Some years ago a Frenchman exhibited four 
and twenty canary-birds, many of which he said 
were from eighteen to twenty-five years of age. 
Some of these balanced themselves, head down- 
ward, on their shoulders, having their legs and 
tail in the air. One of them, taking a slender 
stick in its claws, passed its head between its 
legs, and suffered itself to be turned round, as 
if in the act of being roasted. Another bal- 
anced itself, and was slung backward and for- 
ward on a kind of slack-rope. A third was 
dressed in military uniform, having a cap on its 
head, wearing a sword and pouch, and carrying 
a firelock in one claw; after some time sitting 
upright, this bird, at the word of command, 
freed itself from its dress, and flew away to the 
cage. A fourth suffered itself to be shot at, 
and falling down, as if dead, to be put into a 
little wheelbarrow, and wheeled away by one 
of its comrades ; and several of the birds were 
at the same time placed upon a little firework, 
and continued there quietly, and without alarm, 
till it was discharged. 

The following story, we believe, is entirely 
authentic. Lord Peterborough, when a young 
man, and about the time of the Kevolution in 
England, had a passion for a young lady who 
was fond of birds. She had seen and heard a 
fine canary-bird at a coffee-house near Charing- 



THE CANARY-BIRD. 145 

cross, and entreated him to get it for her ; the 
owner of it was a widow, and Lord Peterbor- 
ough offered to buy it at a great price, which 
she refused. Finding there was no other way 
of coming at the bird, he determined to change 
it; getting one of the same color, with nearly 
the same marks, but which happened to be a 
hen, he went to the house. The mistress of it 
usually sat in a room behind the bar, to which 
he had easy access. Contriving to send her out 
of the way, he effected his purpose, and, upon 
her return, took his leave. He continued to 
frequent the house to avoid suspicion, but for- 
bore saying any thing of the bird till about two 
years after; when, taking occasion to speak of 
it, he said to the woman : 

"I would have bought that bird of you, and 
you refused my money for it; I dare say you 
are by this time sorry for it?" 

"Indeed, sir," answered the woman, "I am 
not, nor would I now take any sum for him ; 
for — would you believe it? — from the time that 
our good king had to go abroad and leave us, 
the dear creature has not sung a note." 
10 d 



X. 

<kM> $8tens, tymh, ladftato. 

(CORTUS.) 

¥E now come to a whole tribe of bold, clever, 
cunning, impudent, inquisitive, and pil- 
fering birds ; all grouped into a widely-extended 
genus; the members of which bear the above 
names. 

Crows are omnivorous, have a very acute 
sense of smell, and are such thieves that noth- 
ing is safe from their secretive habits. They 
are larger than the other birds of the genus, 
and their plumage, in the northern parts of the 
world, is black ; elsewhere they often show a 
portion of white. What is called a chough, is a 
red-legged crow, and he is the most inquisitive 
of all birds; examines every thing, takes it 
away, if he can ; and if there be a collection of 
any thing to which he has access, he is sure to 
scatter it in all directions. Those which have 
been kept as pets have proved to be very affec- 
146 



CROWS, RAVENS, ETC. 147 

tionate, liking to be caressed; but at the same 
time are very easily affronted. They eagerly 
devour flesh, but will eat grains. Their favorite 
dainty, however, is the grasshopper. 

Mr. Gosse says, that the jabbering crow of 
Jamaica has wild and harsh tones, so articulate, 
however, as to sound like some savage language, 
poured out in sentences of infinite variety, from 
the summit of some lofty tree. The negroes 
think they hear it say, "Walk fast, crab, do 
buckra work, cuttacoo [a little hand-basket] 
better than wallet." There is little doubt that 
these sounds are intended to attract their com- 
panions, for if there be one within hearing, it 
comes and enters into noisy conversation with 
the speaker. They seem to calculate with great 
accuracy on the distance which a gun will reach; 
and when beyond it, sit still, as if in defiance; 
but on other occasions they fly away on the 
least alarm. " They are very droll when tame ; 
and when stealing, which they do abundantly, 
arc very silent. They are said to destroy the 
yellow snake, flying at it one after the other, 
and tearing out a mouthful of its flesh in the 
most horrible manner, by which means they eat 
it alive." 

Mr. Waterton says, that the European crow 
is the earliest and latest of diurnal birds, and 
a curious feature in its character is. that al- 



148 FIRESIDE READING. 

though, generally speaking, it is .a very shy and 
cautious bird, yet in nesting and pairing time 
it makes every endeavor to see and be seen, and 
to frequent the vicinity of man. One mischief 
of which it is guilty is to eat cherries, but the 
greatest of all is the destruction of young- 
poultry. 

Wily as crows are on ordinary occasions, 
when pressed by hunger their courage and 
daring are quite equal to those of birds of prey, 
and they will seize their victims in the close 
vicinity of man. 

The crows of Ceylon are particularly impu- 
dent, and are very large birds, with thick glossy 
plumage, and very intelligent. They will fly 
into the breakfast room when the family are 
assembled at table, and snatch off a slice of 
bread; watch the cook in the cook-house, and 
when his back is turned, fly off with some of the 
food. One attacked a piece of cake in the 
hand of a child six years old, and got it away 
from him. Another, called the old soldier, be- 
cause he was so daring, and had lost half of one 
leg when fighting, used actually to take food 
away from a dog while he was eating, irritate 
him, and then, when he barked, snatch the prey, 
and triumphantly bear it off to a neighboring 
tree, where he ate it at his leisure, while the dog 
stood looking at him, and uselessly venting his 



CROWS, RAVENS, ETC. 149 

rage in loud and angry and of course profitless 
barks. (Sirr.) 

I must now exhibit crows in a more amiable 
light, and show the strength of their affections. 
A gentleman had reared a crow, which was very 
amusing from its tricks; it lived a long time in 
the family, but at length disappeared, and was 
supposed to have been destroyed. Eleven 
months after it was missing, the gentleman was 
standing by the side of a river, in company with 
several others, and a number of crows passed 
over their heads. One of them separated itself 
from its companions, and perched upon the gen- 
tleman's shoulder, and began chattering at him 
in the most vociferous manner. He recognized 
his old favorite, and caressed it, but when he de- 
sired again to take possession of it, the crow, 
having tasted the sweets of liberty, made its 
escape, and flew away forever. 

" In the northern parts of Scotland, and in 
the Ferroe Islands, extraordinary meetings of 
crows are occasionally known to occur. They 
collect in great numbers, as if they had all boon 
summoned for the occasion ; a few of the flock 
sit with drooping heads, and others seem as 
grave as judges, while others again are exceed- 
ingly active and noisy : in the course of about 
an hour they disperse, and it is not uncommon, 
after they have flown away, to find one or two 



150 FIRESIDE READING. 

left dead on the spot." Dr. Edmonston says, 
that "these meetings will sometimes continue 
for a day or two before the object, whatever it 
may be, is completed. Crows continue to arrive 
from all quarters during the session. As soon 
as they have all arrived, a very general noise 
ensues ; and, shortly after, the whole fall upon 
one or two individuals, and put them to death. 
When the execution has been performed, they 
quietly disperse." 

The cunning ravens inhabit all Europe, and 
a large portion of Asia, and in ancient and 
modern times have been considered as omens 
rather of evil than of good. " I once saw a 
letter," says Mrs. Lee, "from a gentleman to 
his wife, who was on a visit from home, which 
informed her that the cook of their family was 
ill, and that, although not considered in danger 
by the doctor, he was sure she would die, for he 
had three times seen a raven perch upon the top 
of the kitchen chimney; and he entreated the 
lady to return home as soon as possible." 

These voracious birds eat every thing that 
has, or has had, animal life in it; and they, as 
well as crows, attack young lambs, or weak 
quadrupeds, and pick out their eyes. They live 
chiefly on rocky precipices, or tall trees; are 
very combative, and overcome the fiercest game- 
cocks. They will, however, become very tame 



ETC. 151 

and familiar, and are even capable of very- 
strong attachment; but their acquisitive and 
secretive propensities, although amusing, some- 
times cause much annoyance. '*.A large raven," 
says Mrs. Lee, " used to frequent a coach-stand, 
not far from the street in which I lived, and 
was the terror of almost all the women and 
children of the neighborhood, some of whom 
gave him many a sly thump. These thumps 
were occasionally and liberally bestowed by still 
more powerful arms ; but he appeared to have a 
charmed life, and to rise up again as if he had 
never been knocked down. I have seen him 
prostrate, and to all appearance dead, but in a 
few hours a sharp bite on my heels, as I quitted 
a shop, convinced me he was still living. On 
one occasion I beheld him, as I imagined, 
drowned ; for he was lying perfectly still on the 
pavement, to all appearance breathless, and 
every feather so drenched, that the stem of it 
was visible. When I turned him over with my 
parasol he was not roused; and knowing that 
ravens can not endure water, I felt justified in 
announcing his death to the rejoicing ears of 
my children, who said they could now walk 
peaceably along the street which he frequent oil. 
They accordingly went the next day ; but the 
foremost of them rushed back to her nurse, whe 
was not less alarmed than herself, for there Wt ) 



152 FIRESIDE READING. 

Jack, strutting as if he had never been soused 
in all his life." 

Ravens live to a great age, talk very well, 
are bold and sagacious, and defend their nests 
against all intruders, even vultures. They often 
attach themselves to other animals, and one 
which had been accustomed to receive food from 
a window every morning, in company with a 
dog, when the dog was ill and could not leave 
his kennel, always carried his breakfast to his 
sick friend. 

Mr. Waterton gives the following account of 
his pet "Marco:" "Marco could do everything, 
was as playful as a kitten, showed vast apti- 
tude in learning to talk, and was fond of seeing 
a carriage approach the house. He would at- 
tend company on their arrival at the bridge, 
[the bridge which connects the island, on which 
Mr. Waterton's house stands, with the park,] 
and wait near the gate till their return; and 
then he would go part of the way back with 
them. He was a universal favorite, notwith- 
standing that at times his evil genius prompted 
him to commit almost unpardonable excesses. 
One day he took a sudden dislike to an old 
duck, with which, till then, he had been upon 
the best terms, and he killed her in an instant. 
The coachman and Marco were inseparable com- 
panions; but at last they had a serious and 



ETC. 153 

fatal quarrel. Marco bit him severely in the 
thumb, upon which this ferocious son of the 
whip seized the bird by the throat, and delib- 
erately strangled it." 

Dr. Stanley says that "a gentleman's butler, 
having missed a great many silver spoons and 
other articles, without a suspicion as to who 
might be the thief, at last observed a tame 
raven with one in his mouth, and watching him 
to his hiding-place, discovered more than a 
dozen." 

The landlord of an inn was in possession of a 
raven, which frequently went hunting with a 
dog that had been bred up with him. On their 
arrival at a cover, the dog entered, and drove 
the hares and rabbits from the thicket, while 
the raven, posted on the outside of the cover, 
seized every one that came in his way, when 
the dog immediately hastened to his assistance, 
and by their joint efforts nothing escaped. 

" A raven which lived at the Elephant and 
Castle, formed a great intimacy with several of 
the coachmen who frequented that place, and 
frequently mounted on to the top of their 
coaches, and rode with them till he met another 
friend driving homeward, when lie would change 
coaches and return." (Naturalist's Magazine.) 

The Saturday Magazine gives a still stronger 
proof of attachment in a raven, which attended 



154 FIRESIDE READING. 

a dog with the utmost kindness, whose leg had 
been injured by the wheel of a chaise passing 
over it. " The dog was tied up under a man- 
ger, where Ralph, the raven, visited him, and 
brought him bones. The ostler said the bird 
had been brought up with a dog, and great 
affection subsisted between them ; that the dog's 
lea; had been broken, and during: his confine- 
ment Ralph waited on him, carried him his 
food, and rarely left him alone. He one night 
nearly pecked a hole through the stable door, 
which was shut, that he might rejoin his invalid 
friend, and this attachment made him fond of 
all dogs." 

Another history of a raven's preference for 
a canine companion is thus given: The latter 
was a large otter-dog, and was kept chained up 
in a stable-yard, where the raven began by oc- 
casionally snatching a morsel from the dog's 
feeding-pan before he had finished his meal. 
As this was not resented, the raven always at- 
tended at meal-times, and occasionally took 
away a scrap in his beak, beyond the reach 
of the dog's chain, and then returned with it, 
played about, and hung it on the dog's nose, and 
when the poor beast was in the act of snapping 
it up, darted off with it. At other times he hid 
the morsel under a stone, beyond the length 
of his chain, and then, with a cunning look, 



RAVENS, ETC. 155 

mounted upon the dog's head. He, however, 
always ended by giving the dog the largest por- 
tion, or the whole of the scrap thus played 
with. The life of this raven was saved by the 
dog; who, seeing the poor bird nearly drowned 
in a tub of water, dragged his heavy kennel till 
he could put his head over the tub, when he 
took the raven up in his mouth, and laid him 
gently upon the ground, where he soon recov- 
ered. 

To Captain Brown's book we are indebted 
for the following anecdote : " One day, a per- 
son traveling through the forest to Winchester, 
was much surprised at hearing the following ex- 
clamation : < Fair play, gentlemen ! fair play ! 
For God's sake, gentlemen, fair play !' The 
traveler looking round, to discover from whence 
the voice came, to his great astonishment, be- 
held no human being near. But hearing the 
cry of ' Fair play ' repeated, he thought it must 
proceed from some creature in distress. He 
immediately rushed into that part of the forest 
whence the cries came, when, to his astonish- 
ment, he beheld two ravens combating a third 
with great fury, while the sufferer, which proved 
to be a tame one belonging to a gentleman in 
the neighborhood, kept loudly vociferating, 
4 Fair play,' which so interested the trawler 
that he instantly rescued the oppressed bird." 



156 FIRESIDE BEADING. 

Rooks are European birds ; they are fonder 
of the larvae of insects than of all other food, 
and are very useful by devouring them and 
worms, though sometimes, to get at them, they 
pull up roots of grass, young wheat, etc., which 
makes them often unpopular. There is much 
more reason, however, to find fault with them 
on account of the number of cherries, pears, 
and young walnuts which go down their throats. 
They are very systematic in their marauding ex- 
cursions, establish sentinels in various direc- 
tions, take wing upon the least alarm, and are 
very cunning in getting out of the way of a 
gun, seeming well to know the sight of this 
weapon.' They generally frequent the same 
spot all their lives, and it is very difficult to 
dislodge them from their abode ; for they will, 
after an absence of two or three years, return 
to their favorite, lofty trees. They rather court 
than shun the vicinity of man; and several 
rookeries exist in the most densely-populated 
parts of London. Farmers have often driven 
them from their premises, under the idea of 
their causing so much mischief to their crops ; 
but they have always had reason to repent of 
this act, for then their crops have failed from 
the depredations of worms. 

Rooks are very wise birds, as this anecdote 
from Mr. Yarrell's pages will show: "An old 



CROWS, RAVENS, ETC, 157 

mansion, not far from London, was surrounded 
by a number of very fine elms, many of which 
had become very old, and it was therefore de- 
termined on by the owners to fell a few of them 
every year, and plant young ones in their place. 
The oldest of the trees were accordingly con- 
demned, and a portion of the bark of each was 
taken off, to indicate which had been selected. 
These trees were soon forsaken by the rooks 
who had inhabited them; and it was subse- 
quently observed that, immediately after any 
of the other elms were marked in a similar 
manner, the rooks forsook the trees, as if fully 
aware that the removal of the bark was a notice 
to quit." 

These birds associate with jackdaws and star- 
lings, often mingling flocks with the former; 
and a proof of their affection for each other, is 
thus given by Dr. Percival, the author of " Dis- 
sertations:" " A large colony of rooks had sub- 
sisted many years in a grove, on the banks of 
the river Irwcll, near Manchester. One serene 
evening I placed myself within view of it, and 
marked with attention the various labors, pas- 
times, and evolutions of this crowded society. 
The idle members amused themselves witli chas- 
ing each other through endless mazes, and in 
their flight they made the air resound with an 
infinitude of discordant noises. In the midst 



158 FIRESIDE READING. 

of these playful exertions, it unfortunately hap- 
pened that one rook, by a sudden turn, struck 
his beak against the wing of another. The suf- 
ferer instantly fell into the river. A general 
cry of distress ensued. The birds hovered with 
every expression of anxiety over their distressed 
companion. Animated by their sympathy, and 
perhaps by the language of animals, known to 
themselves, he sprang into the air, and by one 
strong effort reached the point of a rock which 
projected into the river; the, joy became loud 
and universal; but, alas! it was soon changed 
into notes of lamentation, for the poor wounded 
bird, in attempting to fly toward his nest, 
dropped again into the river, and was drowned, 
amid the moans of his whole fraternity." 
X~Like crows, rooks frequently hold councils, 
and punish delinquents ; they seem to salute the 
return of the members of their community with 
loud cries, as if asking them for the news which 
they bring, and the chattering between the par- 
ties is abundant after each fresh arrival; JSTo 
one can form an idea of the noise of a rookery, 
but those who are in its vicinity; and yet they 
are pleasing neighbors. 

"A clergyman who had a small rookery near 
his house, observed, that when he walked near, 
or under the trees, they exhibited no signs of 
alarm; but when a stranger approached, they 



ETC. 159 

were evidently uneasy, and manifested, by their 
loud cawings and movements, their wish for his 
departure. The following is a still stronger 
proof of their attachment to human beings: 
1<r K. number of rooks built their nests upon some 
trees surrounding a farm ; shortly after the oc- 
cupier took up his residence there, and in three 
or four years it became a considerable rookery. 
The farmer then removed to a larger farm, and 
to his great surprise and pleasure, the rooks 
manifested such an attachment to him, that they 
deserted their habitation, and accompanied him 
to his new abode." 

The pert, noisy, active, and cheerful jackdaw, 
is an Asiatic as well as a European bird. Every- 
where its character is the same ; but, perhaps, it 
is worst thought of in India, because it is so 
often seen perched on the dead bodies which 
float down the Ganges. 

Jackdaws are the boldest of the genus crow, 
and have a very remarkable " don't-care " look. 
They frequent high towers ; they also get into 
hollow trees; a curious contrast to which habit- 
ations, is a propensity to enter rabbit-burrows. 
Their depredations in the Botanical hardens of 
Cambridge is an instance of their self-appropri- 
ating propensities. They helped themselves to 
all the wooden labels which were placed in the 
ground, and which bore the names of the plants, 



160 FIRESIDE READING. 

and eighteen dozen of these were^ afterward 
found in the shaft of a chimney. ' They choose 
their mates for life, and do not live in large 
communities ; they assemble, however, in flocks 
when cherries begin to ripen. "One or two 
will first arrive and fly round and round at a 
great hight above the garden," says Mr. St. 
John. "After some chattering between them- 
selves they fly away, returning some hours after- 
ward with the rest of their family, four or five 
in numbers/and if not checked by a few charges 
of shot, these first intruders soon invite every 
jackdaw in the country to the feast, their num- 
bers increasing every day." 

Macrobius tells us, that when Augustus Caesar 
was returning in triumph to Rome from his vic- 
tory over Mark Antony, there appeared among 
the crowd which welcomed him, a bird borne on 
a man's hand, which flapped its wings, and cried 
out: "God save the Emperor, the victorious 
Caesar !" 

Augustus, delighted to see himself saluted by 
this winged spokesman, gave its owner a hand- 
some sum for the bird. The owner pocketed 
the money, refusing to share any of it with an 
associate who had helped to train his jackdaw. 

This man, in order to be revenged, and to 
show the loyalty which had animated his friend, 
brought to the Emperor another bird which they 



CROWS, RAVENS, ETC. 161 

had in training, and which called out : " God 
save the victorious Mark Antony!" 

Augustus, whose good nature is well known, 
only laughed at the joke, and ordered the con- 
federates to divide the money. After his liber- 
ality in this instance he had a number of speak- 
ing jackdaws and parrots brought to him. 

One poor fellow, a shoemaker, took great 
pains to teach a bird which he had got for the 
purpose, hoping to make his fortune by it. The 
bird, which had no such prospects, was but a 
slow scholar ; and his master in the midst of his 
lessons often ejaculated in despair: "Well, I 
have lost my labor !" 

Having at last, however, and with much pains, 
completed his education, the daw was brought 
out one day to salute Augustus, and repeated 
his " God save the Emperor," with great dis- 
tinctness. 

"Tut!" said Augustus, "I have too many 
courtiers of your kind." 

"Well," cried the daw, which at that mo- 
ment remembered his master's ejaculation, 
" Well, I have lost my labor." . 

The Emperor was so much amused with its 
answer, that he bought the feathered wit for 
double the expected sum. 

For the following droll occurrence we are in- 
debted to the pages of Captain Brown: "Mr. 
11 D 



162 FIRESIDE READING. 

William Wright, a publican, at the village of 
Gilmerton, near Edinburgh, had a tame jack- 
daw. On one occasion, half a glass of whisky 
was left on a table, when Jackie flew up, and 
after the first taste, liked it so much, that he 
drank a quantity. In a few minutes symptoms 
of intoxication began to appear; his wings 
dropped, and his eyes were half closed. He 
then staggered in his walk in the most ludi- 
crous way possible. He moved toward the 
edge of the table, probably intending to fly 
to the ground; but had either lost the power 
of motion in his wings, or he was afraid to trust 
to them. He stood, seemingly meditating what 
he should do; all the while hanging like a 
drunken man about to lose his balance ; till at 
last his eyes quite closed, and he fell on his 
back, with his legs in the air, exhibiting every 
sign of death. An attempt was made to put 
some water down his throat, but he could not 
swallow it. He was then rolled in a piece of 
flannel, put into a box, and placed on the shelf 
of a locked closet. All the family, with whom 
he was a great pet, never expected to see him 
on his legs again. Next morning, about six 
o'clock, the closet door was opened with the ex- 
pectation of finding Jackie defunct; but he had 
extricated himself from the flannel, and as soon 
as the door was open he flew out, and made his 



ETC. 163 

way as quickly as possible to a basin-shaped 
stone, out of which the fowls drank, and copi- 
ously allayed his thirst. He repeated this sev- 
eral times during the day, and was not the 
worse for getting drunk ; but, with more for- 
bearance than those who are endowed with rea- 
son, he never again would touch whisky." 



XI. 

(pica.) 

THE chattering magpies, said by ancient 
poets to be women changed into birds, are 
as inquisitive and as pilfering as the crow genus, 
and, if possible, more noisy ; for, added to many 
other sounds, they scream loudly and often. In 
many parts of England, they are, in conse- 
quence of their supposed destruction of fruit 
and young game, considered as great evils, but 
this opinion is one of the accepted prejudices 
which a little experience disproves; and they 
ought rather to be favorites, from the beauty of 
their plumage, their fondness for their young, 
their drollery and cleverness. They are also 
birds of augury, and the appearance of one 
alone is thought to be an evil omen. Four seen 
together predict a funeral; and five foretell 
some dire calamity. 

In Norway it is the custom to give the mag- 
pies a Christmas dinner, by placing some corn 
outside the house for them. In all countries 

they are on good terms with cattle, as thev pick 
164 



THE MAGPIE. 165 

out the insects which lodge in their skin. The 
very extraordinary supposition that inconstancy 
in birds is often punished, is said to have been 
realized among magpies, by the observations of 
a person, near whose house a pair of magpies 
had built their nest. " One morning early, dur- 
ing the absence of her mate, the female magpie 
flew into a neighboring field, where she was 
joined by a stranger of the opposite sex. The 
mate returned, and seeing his partner hopping 
about familiarly with another, he immediately 
darted upon them with the greatest fury, put 
them to flight, and followed them. Whether he 
killed his faithless wife is not known ; but she 
never reappeared, and the deserted widower, 
after occasionally visiting his nest for a day 
or two, finally quitted it, and altogether disap- 
peared." 

From the same source we derive a proof 
of magpie sagacity. A pair built a nest in a 
gooseberry bush, there being no trees in the 
neighborhood. They frequented it for years, 
and as it was accessible to foxes, cats, etc., they 
not only barricaded the nest, but the bush itself 
all round with briers and thorns, in a formidable 
manner, Inside, the nest was soft and warm, 
but outside was so rough and strong, and so 
firmly entwined with the bush, that, without a 
hedge-knife, even man could not, without much 



166 FIRESIDE READING. 

pain and trouble, reach their young, the barrier 
from the outer to the inner edge being more 
than a foot in breadth. The nest was freshly 
fortified every spring with prickly sticks, which 
sometimes required their united forces to drag 
into the bush. 

Lady Morgan, in her " Italy," relates the 
following sad story: " A noble lady of Flor- 
ence, resided in a house which still stands op- 
posite to the lofty Doric column, which was 
raised to commemorate the defeat of Pietro 
Strozzi, and the taking of Sienna. Cosmo I 
lost a valuable pearl necklace, and a very young 
girl was accused of the theft. Having solemnly 
denied the fact, she was put to the torture. 
Unable to support the terrible infliction, she 
acknowledged she was guilty, and without 
further trial was hung. Shortly after, Flor- 
ence was visited by a tremendous storm ; a 
thunderbolt fell on the figure of justice, and 
split the scales, one of which fell to the earth, 
and with it fell the ruins of a magpie's nest, 
containing the pearl necklace." 

From Mr. Hanson we have the following his- 
tory: "A magpie, kept by a branch of our 
family, was noted for his powers of imitation. 
He could whistle tunes, imitate hens and. ducks, 
and speak very plainly. Seated upon a toll-bar 
gate, he would shout ' Gate, ahoy !' so distinctly 



THE MAGPIE. 167 

as to draw out the keeper, who was generally 
saluted by a loud laugh when he answered the 
call. When the keeper's wife was making pas- 
try, he would practice the same maneuver, and 
if the trick were not detected, and the woman 
rushed out to open the gate, the magpie darted 
into the house, and speedily made his exit with 
his bill full of paste ; and he in great glee would 
chatter about it for some time afterward. He 
would perch upon the backs of chairs, say he 
was hungry, or inform the juniors of the family 
it was time to go to school. He was allowed to 
run about, but was never out of mischief, and 
had a constant propensity to pilfer and hide 
small articles." 



XII- 

%\t loft irf fraMst 

(PARADISE A.) 

THIS bird has been more celebrated for the 
false and imaginary qualities which are at- 
tributed to it, than for its real and truly-re- 
markable properties. It has been reported of 
it, that the egg is produced in the air by the 
female, and hatched by the male in an orifice 
of its body ; that it never touches the ground ; 
that it has no legs ; that it hangs itself by the 
two long feathers to a tree when sleeping ; and 
that it is naturally without legs, and subsists 
entirely upon vapors and dew; with a variety 
of other assertions, equally false and equally 
ridiculous. There are about eight different spe- 
cies of these birds; but that which is best known 
is the greater Paradise Bird, which appears to 
the eye of the size nearly of a pigeon, though 
in reality the body is not much larger than that 
of a thrush. The tail, which is about six 
inches, is as long as the body ; the wings are 
large compared with the bird's other dimensions. 
168 



THE BIRD OF PARADISE. 169 

The head, the throat, and the neck are of a 
pale gold color. The base of the bill is sur- 
rounded by black feathers, as also the side of 
the head and throat, as soft as velvet, and 
changeable like those of the neck of a mallard. 
The hinder part of the head is of a shining 
green, mixed with gold. The body and wings 
are chiefly covered with beautiful brown, purple, 
and gold feathers. The uppermost part of the 
tail feathers is of a pale yellow, and those be- 
neath are white and longer than the former ; 
for which reason the hinder part of the tail ap- 
pears to be all white. But what chiefly excites 
curiosity are two long naked feathers, which 
spring from the upper part of the rump above 
the tail, and which are usually about two feet 
long. These are bearded only at the beginning 
and the end; the whole shaft for about one foot 
nine inches being of a deep black, while the 
feathered extremity is of a changeable color. 

This bird is a native of the Molucca Islands, 
and is found in New Guinea, and in some of the 
smaller islands of the Indian Seas. Their skins 
arc given in barter by the ferocious inhabitants 
of these countries, who generally cut off the 
thick, coarse legs of the birds, because they doom 
them out of character with their delicate and 
yet brilliant plumage. All that is profuse, 
elegant, light and rich in form and tint, may bo 



170 FIRESIDE READING. 

found in this tribe ; some idea of which may be 
formed from the plumes worn by ladies. Mr. 
Bennett has given us an account of the great 
bird of paradise, which inhabited a large cage 
at Macao, in China, and which conveys a curi- 
ous picture of conscious beauty in the feathered 
tribe ; a beauty which can only be exceeded by 
the humming-bird, and which consciousness is 
said to be much less rare among animals, than 
might have been supposed. 

The wire of the cage gave the bird "abund- 
ance of room for the display of its gaudy dress, 
of which it seemed very proud; dancing about 
when visitors approached, as if delighted at 
being made an object of admiration. It washed 
itself twice every day, and threw up its del- 
icate feathers nearly over its head. Nothing 
appeared to disturb it so much as any sort of 
dust attaching itself to its plumage; for at its 
toilet it pecked and cleansed all within reach, 
and throwing out the elegant and delicate tuft 
of feathers underneath the wings, cleaned each 
in succession, by passing it through its bill. 
Having completed its toilet, it would alter its 
usual cawing notes, and then look archly at the 
spectators, as if ready to receive their admira- 
tion." (Wanderings in New South Wales.) 



XIII. 

®|! f iimmiiig-iit^ 

(tbochilus.) 

"Like fairy sprites a thousand birds 
Glance by on golden wing, 
Birds lovelier than the lovely hues 
Of the bloom wherein they sing." 

¥E have found it difficult to convey an idea 
of the beauty of the bird of paradise ; and 
now we come to those exquisite and tiny crea- 
tures, words seem to be still more inadequate to 
express their elegant forms and proportions, the 
dazzling luster of their plumage, or the variety 
of their decorations.\yThe feathers of their wings 
are stiff, and are in a state of incessant vibra- 
tion; causing the noise from which they derive 
their name. Their flight resembles that of in- 
sects; and their young, when first hatched, arc 
not larger than blue-bottle flies, ylt is chiellv 
on their heads, breasts, and bodies, that the me- 
tallic and jeweled splendor lavished upon them 
exists; sometimes in patches, others in aigrettes, 

and again in diadems, and some have their Legfl 

171 



172 FIRESIDE READING. 

encircled with the finest black, white, or fawn- 
colored down, from which peep their feet, and 
which, it has been supposed, is a provision 
against the cold, for some inhabit the elevated 
neighborhood of the Andes. They have long, 
narrow wings, which give them great power of 
flight ; they never rest on the ground, and they 
have long tongues, which they dart forth with 
great rapidity to catch the minute insects, which 
form the larger portion of their food. They 
are all natives of the new world, are very fear- 
less of man, but they can not bear confinement ; 
they migrate to different parts of the same con- 
tinent, and mount as high as 15,000 feet up the 
Andes. It has been often said that small ani- 
mals of all kinds, not excepting unfeathered 
bipeds, have strong fighting and quarrelsome 
propensities ; and the saying is certainly verified 
by humming-birds. None exceed them in their 
combative habits ;¥ they get into a rage with 
each other on the smallest provocation, and fight 
with a determination and perseverance which 
often proves fatal to one party. 

Of this charming little animal there are not 
less than sixty species, from the size of a small 
wren down to that of a bee. A European 
could never have supposed a bird existing so 
very small, and yet completely furnished with a 
bill, feathers, wings, and intestines, exactly 



THE HUMMING-BIRD. 173 

resembling those of the largest kind. A bird 
not so big as the end of one's little finger, 
would probably be supposed but a creature of 
imagination, were it not seen in infinite num- 
bers, and as frequent as butterflies in a summer's 
day, sporting in the fields from flower to flower, 
and extracting their sweets with its little bill. 
"""The smallest humming-bird is about the size 
of a bee, and weighs no more than twenty 
grains. 

Mr. Gosse describes two Mango humming- 
birds nearly in the following words : " A Mango 
humming-bird had every day, and all day, been 
paying his devoirs to the charming blossoms of 
the Malay apple — eugenia malaccensis — when 
another came. They chased each other through 
the labyrinth of twigs and flowers, till one 
would dart Avith seeming fury upon the other; 
and then with a loud rustling of their wings, 
they would twirl together round and round, till 
they nearly came to the earth. It was difficult 
to see what took place in these tussles, their 
twirlings were so rapid. At length, an en- 
counter took place close to me ; and I perceived 
that the beak of the one grasped the beak of 
the other, and thus fastened, both whirled round 
and round in their perpendicular descent, iho 
point of contact being the center of fehe gyra- 
tions; till, when another second would loive 



174 FIRESIDE READING. 

brought them both on the ground, they sep- 
arated, and the one chased the other for above 
a hundred yards, and then returned in triumph 
to the tree, where, perched on a lofty twig, he 
chirped monotonously and pertinaciously for 
some time: I could not help thinking in de- 
fiance. 

"In a few minutes, however, the banished one 
returned, and began chirping no less provok- 
ingly, which soon brought on another chase, 
and another tussle. I am persuaded that these 
were hostile encounters, for one seemed evi- 
dently afraid of the other, fleeing when the 
other pursued, though his indomitable spirit 
would prompt the chirp of defiance ; and when 
resting after a battle, I noticed that this one 
held his beak open as if panting. Sometimes 
they would suspend hostilities to seek a few 
blossoms; but mutual proximity was sure to 
bring them on again. A little Banana quit, 
that was peeping among the blossoms in his own 
quiet way, seemed now and then to look with 
surprise on the combatants ; but when the one 
had driven his rival to a longer distance than 
usual, the victor set upon the unoffending quit, 
who soon yielded the point, and retired, humbly 
enough, to a neighboring tree. The war — for 
it was a thorough campaign, a regular succes- 
sion of battles — lasted fully an hour ; and then 



THE HUMMING-BIRD. 175 

I was called away from the post of observa- 
tion." 

We continue to quote passages which are so 
highly illustrative of these interesting birds. 
" I suppose I have sometimes seen not fewer 
than a hundred come successively to rifle the 
blossoms within the space of half as many 
yards, in the course of a forenoon. They are, 
however, in no respect gregarious ; though three 
or four may be at one moment hovering round 
the blossoms of the same branch, there is no 
association. We often found the curiosity of 
these little birds stronger than their fear ; on 
holding up the net near one, they frequently 
would not fly away, but come and hover over 
the mouth, stretching out their neck to peep in, 
so that we could capture them with little diffi- 
culty. Often, too, one when struck at unsuc- 
cessfully, would return immediately, and sus- 
pend itself in the air just above our heads, or 
peep into our faces with unconquerable famil- 
iarity. Yet it was difficult to bring these sweet 
birds, so easily captured, home ; they were usu- 
ally dead or dying when we arrived at the 
house, though not wounded or struck ; and 
those that did arrive in apparent health, usu- 
ally died the next day. At my first attempt 
I transferred such as 1 succeeded in bringing 
alive, to cages, immediately on their arrival at 



176 FIRESIDE READING. 

the house, and though they did not beat them- 
selves, they soon sank under the confinement. 
Suddenly they would fall to the floor of the 
cage, and lie motionless with closed eyes ; if 
taken into the hand, they would perhaps seem 
to revive for a few moments ; then throw back 
the pretty head, or toss it to and fro, as if in 
great suffering ; expand the wings, open the 
eyes, slightly puff up the feathers of the breast, 
and die ; usually without any convulsive strug- 
gle." 

Mr. Gosse brought some very young ones, not 
fully fledged, to his house, and turned them into 
an open room, carefully securing the doors and 
windows; he fed them with flowers, especially 
the asclepias curassavica. He then put some 
pieces of the sugar-cane into a bottle, intro- 
duced a quill through the cork, covered the cork 
with a flower, and the bird eagerly sucked up 
the juice ; soon he sucked it out of the bare 
quill; and by such means Mr. Gosse succeeded 
in keeping humming-birds for a long time. The 
boldest of them was rather pugnacious, attack- 
ing his gentler companion, who yielded and 
fled; then he, assuming courage, played the 
tyrant in his turn, actually preventing the for- 
mer from sipping out of the sweetened cup/ 

The name given by Indians to humming-birds 
will strike the reader as very appropriate ; they 



THE HUMMING-BIRD. ITT 

call them "beams," or " locks of the sun," and 
the ancient people of those countries used their 
feathers for embroidery. \ That they inhabit 
cold as well as hot latitudes, the elevation at 
which they are found will show ; and they go so 
far south that Captain King saw many of them, 
quite happy and lively, in a snow-storm, in the 
Straits of Magellan; nevertheless, we are told 
that continued cold will make them torpid. 
Some few are gifted with song, but their gen- 
eral cry resembles two boughs scraping together. 
The tongue is very curious; for it consists of 
two tubes, which are separated a short distance 
from the tip, at which part they are flattened, 
and they can dart this tongue out to a great 
distance, and as suddenly retract it. They 
creep under spiders' webs to look for insects; 
but the spiders soon cause them to retreat. 
12 D 



SECTION III. 

CLIMBERS. 

(SCANCEEOS.) 

THE habit of climbing trees, which is gener- 
ally practiced by the birds of this order, 
has procured for them the above name. Their 
feet are well adapted to this mode of procuring 
food, consisting of insects, or fruit; for they 
have two toes before, and two behind, which 
formation enables them to place a firm grasp on 
every thing which they ascend, and in which 
they are also assisted by their beak. We can 
instance only a few of them. 
178 



I. 

(pica.) 

WOODPECKERS may be heard in the 
woods, tapping the trees with their beaks, 
to frighten the insects, which then issue from 
under the bark, and are secured by the clammy 
juice which lies upon their spiny-tipped tongue. 
The systematic way in which they make their 
nests is thus described by Wilson: " Having 
pitched upon a tree, they reconnoiter it mi- 
nutely for several days, and then the work is first 
begun by the male, who cuts a hole with his 
powerful bill in the solid wood, as circular as if 
described by a pair of compasses. He is occa- 
sionally relieved by the female, both parties 
working with the most indefatigable diligence. 
The direction of the hole, if made in the body 
of the tree, is generally downward, in a slop- 
ing direction, for six or eight inches, ami then 
straight down for ten or twelve inches ; within, 
it is roomy, capacious, and as smooth as if 

polished by the cabinet-maker, and the entrance 

170 



180 FIRESIDE READING. 

is left just so large as to admit the body of the 
owner. During this labor they regularly carry 
out the chips, often strewing them at a distance, 
to prevent suspicion. This operation sometimes 
occupies the chief part of a week. The female, 
before she begins to lay her eggs, often visits 
the place, passes out and in, examines every 
part, both of the exterior and interior, with 
great attention, as every prudent tenant of a 
new house ought to do, and at length takes com- 
^jplete possession." 

"A clergyman, traveling in Turkey, was per- 
forming quarantine in a village, he having 
passed through a district in which the plague 
was raging. He was in a wretched apartment, 
and had nothing to interest or amuse him dur- 
ing his tedious imprisonment, every body keep- 
ing at a distance for fear of infection. One 
morning, while at breakfast, a bird of the wood- 
pecker species flew in at the window, with all 
the familiarity of an old friend, hopping on the 
table, and picking up the crumbs and flies. It 
had belonged to a young girl just buried, and, 
by a singular instinct, left the house of the 
dead, and flew into his room. Its habits were 
cautious, and yet so familiar that they were 
quite attractive. It climbed up the wall by any 
stick or cord near it, devouring flies. It some- 
times began at the gentleman's feet, and at one 



WOODPECKERS. 181 

race would run up his leg or arm, go round his 
neck, and down his other arm, and so to the 
table. There it would tap with its bill, making 
a noise as loud as a hammer, and this was its 
general habit on the wood-work of every part 
of the room in search of insects, which it de- 
voured as soon as they appeared." 

^"It is said, if you once give a dog a bad 
name, whether innocent or guilty," says Mr. 
Waterton, "he never loses it; it sticks to him 
wherever he goes. He has many a kick and 
many a blow on account of it ; and there is no- 
body to stand up for him. The woodpecker is 
little better off. The proprietors of woods, 
both in Europe and in America, have accused 
him of injuring their timber, by boring holes in 
it, and letting in the water, which soon rots it. 
Had he the power of speech, which Ovid's birds 
possessed in the days of yore, he could soon 
make a defense. ' Mighty lord of the woods,' 
he would say to man, ' why do you wrongfully 
accuse me ? Why do you hunt me up and down 
to death for an imaginary offense? I have 
never spoiled a leaf of your property, much less 
your wood. Your merciless shot strikes me at 
the very time when I am doing you a service. 
But your short-sightedness will not let you see 
it, or your pride is above examining closely (lie 

actions of so insignificant a little bird as I am. 



182 FIRESIDE READING. 

If there be that spark of feeling in your breast, 
which they say man possesses, or ought to pos- 
sess, above all other animals, do a poor injured 
creature a little kindness, and watch me in your 
woods for only one day. I never wound your 
healthy trees. I should perish for want in the 
attempt. The sound bark would easily resist 
the force of my bill ; and were I even to pierce 
through it, there would be nothing inside that I 
could fancy, or my stomach digest. I often 
visit them, it is true, but a knock or two con- 
vinces me that I must go elsewhere for support ; 
and were you to listen attentively to the sound 
which my bill causes, you would know whether I 
am upon a healthy or an unhealthy tree. Wood 
and bark are not my food. I live entirely upon 
the insects which have already formed a lodg- 
ment in the distempered tree. When the sound 
informs me that my prey is there, I labor for 
hours together, till I get at it ; and by consum- 
ing it for my own support, I prevent its further 
depredations in that part. ^Thus, I discover for 
you your hidden and unsuspected foe, which has 
been devouring your wood in such secrecy that 
you had not the least suspicion that it was 
there. The hole which I make, in order to get 
at the pernicious vermin, will be seen by you as 
you pass under the tree. I leave it as a signal, 
to tell you that your tree has already stood too 



WOODPECKERS. 183 

long. It is past its prime. Millions of insects, 
engendered by disease, are preying upon its 
vitals. Erelong it will fall a log in useless 
ruins. Warned by this loss, cut down the rest 
in time, and spare, spare the unoffending 
woodpecker!' " 



II. 

(CUCULUS.) 

THE habits of this yearly, but brief visitor to 
our woods, long puzzled ornithologists ; but 
patient observation has at last developed the 
mystery. Their short stay would scarcely give 
them time to build a nest, and hatch their eggs ; 
so they lay the latter in the nests of other birds, 
where they are brought to life by the uncon- 
scious foster-parents, generally to the destruc- 
tion of their own offspring. The cuckoo when 
it comes out of the egg, is, of course, larger 
than the young of the owner, and the nest 
scarcely affords room for all; therefore, the 
cuckoo, being the largest and most powerful, 
remedies the inconvenience by tossing the oth- 
ers out. To facilitate this, it is born with a 
depression between the shoulders; it creeps un- 
der the little nestlings till they are lodged in 
this hollow, then lifting itself up even with the 
edge of the nest, they are soon thrown over. 

Its restlessness to get rid of its companions con- 

184 



THE CUCKOO. 185 

tirmes till this hollow is filled up, which is about 
the twelfth day, and if any survive till then, 
they are safe. Should there be two cuckoos in 
one nest, they fight till one, being overcome, is 
disposed of as the others have been. They never 
live long in confinement, but in a rare instance 
of successful nurture, the manners of the pris- 
oner were very engaging. It was particularly 
fond of hairy caterpillars, and almost equally 
pleased with a very small and young mouse, 
which it beat till quite soft, and then swallowed. 
On dissecting a cuckoo, the operator found the 
whole stomach lined with caterpillar-hairs. But 
to return to the captive cuckoo : it was chiefly 
fed with hard-boiled eggs, but never drank, 
though it sipped up a drop of water from the 
end of a straw, or the tip of a finger, and was 
fond of putting its beak into the mouths of 
those who allowed it to do so, to seek the sa- 
liva. It would sit upon the fender, turn itself 
round, spread out its feathers to receive a heat 
of 100 degrees with satisfaction, slept at night 
in a piece of flannel, which was warmed before 
it was wrapped round it, and occasionally would 
creep under the bed-clothes. Although cuckoos 
are very fierce and pugnacious, this one only 
seemed, to dislike or fear those who had teased 
it, and then it raised its neck-feathers, and as- 
sumed an attitude of defense. It never uttered 



186 FIRESIDE READING. 

the cry of "cuckoo;" but when persons around 
it were laughing, it apparently joined them, by 
making a noise like the barking of a little dog. 
At other times it uttered a low, chattering sound 
of pleasure, when it found a warm place, or 
when its mistress returned after an absence of 
some hours. 

Mr. Hoy, of Stoke Nay land, says, "I had 
observed a cuckoo during several days anx- 
iously watching a pair of wagtails building. I 
saw the cuckoo fly from the nest two or three 
times before it was half completed ; and at last, 
the labor of the wagtails not going on, I im- 
agine, as rapidly as might be wished, the cuckoo 
deposited its egg before the lining of the nest 
was finished. The egg, contrary to my expec- 
tation, was not thrown out; and on the follow- 
ing day, the wagtail commenced laying, and, as 
usual, the intruder was hatched at the same time 
as the rest, and soon had the whole nest to 
itself. I once observed a cuckoo enter a wag- 
tail's nest, which contained but one egg; in a 
few minutes, the cuckoo was flying away with 
something in its beak, which it dropped on my 
firing a gun at it. On examining the nest, I 
perceived that the cuckoo had only made an 
exchange, leaving its own egg for the one 
taken," 

Ancient doctors ascribed medicinal virtues to 



THE CUCKOO. 187 

the flesh of the cuckoo, one of the most amus- 
ing of which was, its being an antidote to fleas, 
and it was asserted that, when first heard, if the 
listener circumscribed his right foot, and dug up 
the earth on which it rested, not a flea would 
be hatched wherever that earth was scattered. 
Both Aristotle and Pliny praise the flavor of 
the flesh, and the Italians will eat it, as they do 
most birds. 

It is worthy of remark, that, in general, the 
cuckoo's song lasts from April to the end of 
June, though occasionally the male has been 
heard in July; its notes then become broken, 
and it departs. The young ones go in Sep- 
tember. 

Mr. Gosse speaks of several species of cuckoo 
seen by him in Jamaica, two of which are called 
rain-birds. One of them is also nicknamed 
" Tom fool," on account of its preferring to 
satisfy its curiosity, rather than provide for its 
safety. 

The honey guide is a species of cuckoo, 
whose habit of inviting men to a hive of honey, 
and patiently waiting for the portion they are 
pleased to give it, is well known. 

Dr. Stanley is of opinion that young cuckoos 
have some peculiar quality, whioh enables them 
to gain the affections of other birds of a dif- 
ferent species, as a proof of which, he tells us, 



188 FIRESIDE READING. 

that " a young cuckoo was put into a cage, and 
a few days after, a scarcely-fledged thrush was 
also put in. The latter could feed itself; but 
the cuckoo was obliged to be fed with a quill. 
In a short time, however, the thrush began to 
feed its fellow-prisoner, bestowing every pos- 
sible attention, and manifesting the greatest anx- 
iety to satisfy its continual cravings for food." 
A still more curious story is told by the same 
author, which, like a great many other histories 
of birds and beasts, will find its parallel in hu- 
man life : " A young thrush, just able to feed 
itself, was placed in a cage. A short time af- 
ter, a young cuckoo, which could not feed itself, 
was placed in the same cage, and fed by the 
owner. At length it was observed that the 
thrush fed it; the cuckoo opening its mouth, 
and sitting on the upper perch, and making the 
thrush hop down to fetch its food. One day, 
while thus expecting its supply, a worm was put 
into the cage, and the thrush could not resist 
the temptation of eating it, upon which the 
cuckoo descended, attacked the thrush with fury, 
and literally tore out one of its eyes, and then 
hopped back. Although so lacerated, the poor 
thrush meekly took up some food, and continued 
to do so, till the cuckoo was full-grown. Will 
not the reader be reminded of the old story of 
the boy who bit off his mother's ear ? " 



THE CUCKOO. 189 

We close this article with Bruce's lines to a 
cuckoo : 

" Hail, beauteous stranger of the grove ! 
Thou messenger of spring ! 
Now heaven repairs thy rural seat, 
And woods thy welcome sing. 

Soon as the daisy decks the green, 

Thy certain voice we hear ; 
Hast thou a star to guide thy path, 

Or mark the rolling year ? 

Delightful visitant ! with thee 

I hail the time of flowers, 
And hear the sound of music sweet 

From birds among the bowers. 

The schoolboy, wandering through the wood 

To pull the primrose gay, 
Starts thy most curious voice to hear, 

And imitates thy lay. 

What time the pea puts on the bloom, 

Thou fliest thy vocal vale, 
An annual guest in other lands, 

Another spring to hail. 

Sweet bird ! thy bower is ever green, 

Thy sky is ever clear ; 
Thou hast no sorrow in thy song, 

No winter in thy year ! 

O could I fly, I'd lly with thee I 

We'd make, with joyful n ing, 
Our annual visit o'er the globe, 

Attendants on the spring." 



III. 

(PSITTACUS.) 

a T DO not know any thing," says Mrs. Lee, 
JL "more striking to the traveler in tropical 
countries, than the freedom and abundance of 
those living creatures which, in England and 
the United States, have only been seen as 
rarities, or in confinement ; and I shall never for- 
get the sensations with which I first beheld hun- 
dreds of parrots flying above me, and perching 
upon the tops of trees, while monkeys were 
climbing after them. The scene was, at first, 
so difficult to realize, that I was quite undis- 
turbed by the tremendous chattering and screech- 
ing which attended the congregation of such 
animals. It was fated that the noise of the 
parrots should pursue me after I quitted their 
native region, for the vessel in which I returned 
to England the first time, contained upward of 
three hundred of these birds, they having been 
easily purchased by the sailors, at the cost of a 

handkerchief, a knife, or some trifling article of 
190 



PARROTS. 191 

clothing. Short was our nightly repose, for it 
was long after sundown before these feathered 
passengers would settle themselves in the hen- 
coops, which formed their abode ; and they re- 
newed their clamor at the first aj)proach of 
dawn. Many died when they came into cooler 
latitudes, for their birthplace was equatorial: 
and yet there seemed to be a numerous company 
to pass through the custom-house ; they were 
all gray, with red feathers in their wings and 
tails, and this species has the reputation of 
talking better than any other parrots. 

"The steward of the ship had several, and 
among them was one remarkable for its size 
and beauty, and was kept in a wire cage, taken 
from England for the express purpose of con- 
taining a handsome parrot, which he designed 
for a present. He commenced its education 
immediately, and it was an apt scholar ; making 
more rapid progress when — partly on account 
of the cold, and partly to avoid the monkey, 
which upset the cage, stole the sugar, and en- 
dangered its life — it was moved below, away 
from the screams of its companions, and hear- 
ing only human sounds. It soon acquired 
phrases, whistled tunes, and imitated voices as 
well as words so well, that 1 many times went 
down the companion stairs lo answer the sum- 
mons which I thought T had received, It was 



192 FIRESIDE READING. 

particularly attentive to the accents of a little 
cousin of mine, going to England for education 
under my charge, and whose conversation it 
was constantly endeavoring to repeat. This 
little boy had a native servant to attend him, 
who one day stole some candles, not for the 
sake of procuring light, but as a bonne louche; 
and which theft was soon discovered by the 
steward. A disturbance ensued ; and when the 
parties were a little more calm, the child rushed 
to me, exclaiming in his broken language, 'Mea 
friend ! Mea friend ! Hauboo's a tief, he steal a 
candles, and he — he — he [stammering in his 
eagerness] and he eat 'em.' Of course Hau- 
boo's delinquency received due comment from 
me, and the child repeated the circumstance 
more than once; so, in the evening, when all 
was quiet, I heard the parrot repeating, ' Hau- 
boo's a tief,' in low tones; then it seemed to 
mutter something to itself, then out came the 
candle part of the story, and just as I was going 
to bed, the finale was attained, 'and he — he — 
he eat 'em,' was stammered out with a scream 
of triumph. For days after, no one went near 
the bird but it whispered, 'Hauboo's a tief,' in 
variously-modulated tones, and then burst forth 
with the devouring of the candles as if it knew 
it to be the climax. 

"There is nothing much more droll than to 



PARKOTS. 193 

see a monkey attack a parrot in a cage ; he 
desiring to pull out Poll's tail-feathers, that he 
may suck the quills, and the bird trying to 
avoid him, endeavoring always to face him, 
turning round as he does, trying to bite the 
fingers of the tormentor; which, however, are 
never inserted when Poll's head is toward him, 
for he well knows what a squeeze he would get ; 
while she turns round making efforts to peck at 
him, but apparently bowing with extreme po- 
liteness. 

" To the aptitude with which parrots and 
other talking birds apply their acquirements, I 
have already slightly alluded ; and I here give 
some further examples which have come to my 
knowledge from undoubted sources, or in which 
I have had personal experience. My readers 
can judge for themselves, how far the birds were 
conscious that what they said was adapted to 
the circumstances. 

" One of my earliest recollections was a gray 

parrot, belonging to an old lady who had taken 

charge of my mother's childhood, and which 

had been presented to her by her husband. 

This parrot had lost one of its legs, and no 

sooner did any one remark this, or ask how it 

had been lost, than it replied, ' I lost my leg in 

the merchant's service ; pray, remember the 

lame.' It was frequently hung up in its cage^ 
13 d 



194 FIRESIDE READING. 

outside the house, where its great delight was to 
whistle the dogs around it, and to stop the teams 
of horses which went past, or make them go on 
when they stopped, which they frequently did 
as they mounted the hill where it lived, on all 
which occasions it chuckled and laughed with 
delight. 

"In the same country town lived a famous 
parrot, supposed to be very old ; of which I used 
to hear extraordinary stories, all now forgotten, 
except the following. Its master and mistress 
had a tea-party, followed by cards. The par- 
rot, which had been vociferous for cake while it 
was handed round, at last, as it was thought, 
settled itself to sleep in a corner, where its cage 
stood The whist parties were formed, and but 
little talking ensued ; the silence, however, was 
broken when the moment of reckoning arrived ; 
the losings and winnings were disputed, and 
points were discussed : great excitement took 
place, and passion had already begun to mani- 
fest itself, when, to the astonishment of every 
one, the parrot exclaimed in a loud voice, 
'Curse your cards, ladies.' The squabble was 
stopped, a sort of awe crept over the party, and 
an amicable arrangement took place which was 
cemented by supper. The story, however, 
spread; and it was observed, that there was, 
for some time after, a greater degree of mod- 



PARROTS. 195 

eration on similar occasions. My mother was a 
witness of the whole scene; and from her I 
have heard of another parrot, which was clever 
enough to call the cat when it had any thing to 
eat which it did not like ; for instance, the crust 
of toast, and if 'puss, puss,' were not sufficient, 
used the most coaxing terms to induce it to 
come under the cage, when the rejected article 
was dropped on the floor. This artifice is some- 
times used in cases of fear, as I once saw a cat 
with eyes fixed on a parrot, evidently having an 
intention of springing on the poor bird, which 
was chained to a pole ; and which tried to avert 
the mischief, by saying, 'Dear puss, pretty puss,' 
incessantly, all the time keeping its eye fixed 
upon the enemy. 

" A certain plumed jacko, an African parrot, 
belonged to an acquaintance of mine ; and I 
witnessed his powers, during the stay of a day 
or two, with his mistress. He was rather 
treacherous ; for he would suifer me to caress 
him, and appeared gratified at my notice, so 
long as his owner was in the room ; but I hap- 
pened one day to take him into my finger 
in her absence, and he then gave me a bite 
which left a scar for years, lie always came 
on the dinner table with the dessert, when he 
would play various antics; and at last a dish 
was emptied, into which he laid himself upon 



196 FIRESIDE READING. 

his back, put his head on one side, and ex- 
claimed, 4 Jacko's dead.' He was then covered 
with a d'oyley, and never presumed to move till 
his mistress called him to life again. He was 
very destructive ; on which account he was never 
suffered to leave his cage, unless some one was 
present to watch him. A strange house-maid, 
however, arrived while I was in the house, and 
as she had not received any caution to the con- 
trary, obeyed his earnest entreaties to be let out 
while she was dusting the drawing-room ; and, 
as he resisted all her efforts to get him back to 
his cage, she left him, and closed the doors of 
the room. His mistress, some little time after, 
found him on the hearth-rug, surrounded by the 
fragments of a very valuable book of engravings, 
and tugging with all his strength at the rich 
covers of gold and crimson. He was scolded, 
beaten, and put back into his cage, where he 
remained the rest of the day, without eating or 
speaking, though frequently entreated to do 
both. Evening arrived, and then he cried, 
'Jacko wants to go to bed.' The usual cover- 
ing was thrown across his cage, and to our sur- 
prise, instead of going to sleep, he muttered to 
himself the whole of the scolding which he had 
received ; beginning with, l Naughty Jacko ! 
Wicked bird! How dare you do such mis- 
chief? Ah! I'll punish you,' etc.; but which 



PARROTS. 197 

he was not heard to utter again. This seemed 
to be his time for practicing his accomplish- 
ments; and we were startled another evening, 
by hearing him imitate the low and gentle voice 
of my mother, together with a little peculiarity 
of emphasis which he had caught to perfection, 
and which he had heard for the first time that 
morning. 

" All animals are jealous ; and none more so 
than parrots. One belonging to a young friend 
of mine, was miserable when she took charge of 
a canary for a friend, who was to be absent for 
some time. From the first moment Poll saw 
her caress the stranger, she became sulky ; would 
not speak, scarcely ate during the first few days, 
and not only turned her back upon her mistress, 
but tried to bite her. The canary, one fine, 
sunny morning, was hung up at the window to 
enjoy the warmth, and in its delight burst forth 
into one of its sweetest songs. The parrot 
listened attentively, with her head on one side, 
till the little warbler paused ; when, in the most 
patronizing tone possible, she exclaimed, ' Pretty 
well ; pretty well !' and then, as if in spite, she 
vociferated the most contemptuous f Ha ! Ha ! 
Ha!' 

" This same lady's brother had also a parrot, 
who was very jealous of a much smaller bird 
than himself, on whom his master lavished many 



198 FIRES1BB BEADING. 

caresses. They were placed in a room next to 
the gentleman's bed-chamber ; and one night he 
was awakened by the screams of his little fa- 
vorite. He immediately rose and went to its 
cage with a light, but it was too late ; the par- 
rot had by some means unfastened the door of 
his cage, and going to that of the smaller bird, 
put his claws between the bars, dragged it to 
the side, and was tearing it to pieces. 

" I was told of a parrot the other day, that 
had been accustomed to breakfast on oatmeal- 
porridge; but on a recent occasion the oatmeal 
was exhausted, and from negligence had not 
been renewed. Accordingly, some soaked bread 
was put into the bird's saucer. He looked at it 
for some time, tasted it once or twice, sat and 
apparently considered the matter ; and then, 
dashing his bill in, he threw it all out, first on 
one side and then on the other; saying, be- 
tween each sputtered mouthful, 'Nasty mess! 
nasty mess !' The same bird heard a lady say, 
'0 dear! I have lost my purse!' and imme- 
diately exclaimed, l How very provoking !' 

a A gray parrot, of much fame, once ex- 
isted in Norfolk, which evinced the greatest 
affection for his mistress ; knew her servants, 
always appealed to one of them when in trouble, 
also knew several of her friends, addressed 
them by their names correctly, and asked them 



PARROTS. 199 

to walk in; told the dog of the house to go off 
the rug and go to bed ; and one day hearing a 
gentleman argue with his mistress, as to whether 
a shell in her collection were fossil or recent — 
on which occasion the gentleman became a little 
warm — he cried out, < Put it down, sir, you 
know nothing about the matter.' " 

A curious old story is told in Captain 
Brown's book, without any clew to its date ; its 
ludicrous tendency being the temptation to copy 
it here. 

" A tradesman, who had a shop in the Old 
Bailey, opposite the prison, kept two parrots, a 
green and a gray. The green parrot was taught 
to speak when there was a knock at the street 
door ; the gray whenever the bell rang ; but 
they only knew two short phrases of English. 
The house in which they lived had an old- 
fashioned, projecting front, so that the first floor 
could not be seen from the pavement on the 
same side of the way ; and on one occasion they 
were left outside the window by themselves, 
when some one knocked at the street-door. 
' Who's there ?' said the green parrot. l The 
man with the leather,' was the reply, to which 
the bird answered, '0, 0!' The door not 
being opened, the stranger knocked a second 
time. 'Who's there?' said green Poll. ' Who's 
there?' exclaimed the man. w Why don't yon 



200 FIRESIDE READING, 

come down?' '0, 0!' repeated the parrot. 
This so enraged the stranger that he rang the 
bell furiously. 'Go to the gate/ said a new 
voice, which belonged to the gray parrot. ' To 
the gate?' repeated the man, who saw no such 
entrance, and who thought the servants were 
bantering him. ' What gate ?' he asked, step- 
ping back to view the premises. 'New-gate,' 
responded the gray, just as the angry appli- 
cant discovered who had been answering his 
summons." 



SECTION IV- 

GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. 

THE type of this order is the cock, from 
whose Latin appellation, Gf-allus, it derives 
its name. All the families which compose it 
have a certain resemblance to this bird : they 
walk heavily, and their flight is labored ; their 
crop is very large, and their gizzard very strong; 
their wings are short, and their arched beak is 
well calculated to devour grain, which is their 
principal food. 

201 



I. 

(meleagris.) 

THERE has been much dispute among the 
learned in such matters, whether the ancient 
epicures knew the turkey. Naturalists, how- 
ever, have ascertained the fact, that what has 
been mistaken for them were Guinea fowls. 
The turkey is a native of America ; and Au- 
dubon gives a highly-interesting description of 
them in their native condition. It extends from 
the North- Western territory to the Isthmus of 
Parien — south of which it is not found. Its 
nursery is in the wooded parts of the west. 
There can not be a handsomer bird than the 
species which is found in Honduras, both for 
plumage and dignity of appearance. Although 
it is amusing to see the consequential and 
measured step of the male turkey, when set- 
ting intruders at defiance, he swells out his 
feathers, spreads his tail open, and slowly struts 
along, making his peculiar and disagreeable cry ; 

it is by no means all amusement, for if the stran- 
202 



THE TURKEY. 203 

ger approach too near, he is quite capable of, 
and willing to inflict severe blows. 

In their native state, turkeys grow to a large 
size, and a curious feature in the character of 
the male is, that they seek their young ones for 
the purpose of destroying them ; in consequence 
of which, the females endeavor, as much as pos- 
sible, to avoid them, and they and their broods, 
sometimes amounting to seventy or eighty, con- 
gregate apart from the fathers of their offspring. 
They migrate in vast numbers from one part to 
another for the sake of food, the principal of 
which is the mast of the beech-tree ; and when 
they come to a river, they station themselves 
upon the neighboring trees for a while, as if to 
contemplate the undertaking ; they then descend 
to the ground, each sex spreading out their tails 
in the most pompous manner imaginable, the 
males gobbling, while the females and the young 
run and leap about in the most extravagant 
manner, all of which looks like screwing up 
their courage to the proper pitch. The old and 
the strong get over very well, but the young 
often fall into the water; they, however, strike 
out boldly till they come to land, when they 
seem to be quite bewildered, as if afraid of 
what they had done. 

Several hens will lay their eggs in one nest, 
and they make up for the deficiency of paternal 



204 FIRESIDE READING. 

affection by being excellent mothers, feeding 
their young in wet weather with the buds of the 
spicewood bush, as an antidote to damp, and 
vigorously defending them from all enemies. 
Three of these enemies beset the males also, 
and are very formidable, the snowy and Vir- 
ginian owls, and the lynx. " When attacked by 
the two large species of owls above mentioned," 
says Audubon, " they often effect their escape in 
a way somewhat remarkable. As turkeys usu- 
ally roost in flocks on naked branches of trees, 
they are easily perceived by the owls, which, on 
silent wing, approach, and hover round them, 
for the purpose of reconnoitering. This, how- 
ever, is rarely done without being discovered, 
and a single cluck from one of the turkeys, an- 
nounces to the whole party the approach of the 
murderer. They instantly start upon their legs, 
and watch the motions of the owl, which, se- 
lecting one as its victim, comes down upon it 
like an arrow, and would inevitably secure the 
turkey, did not the latter, at that moment, lower 
its head, stoop, and spread its tail in an in- 
verted manner over its back, by which action 
the aggressor is met by a smooth, inclined plane, 
along which it glances without hurting the tur- 
key ; immediately after which the latter drops to 
the ground, and thus escapes, merely with the 
loss of a few feathers." 



THE TURKEY. 205 

The Mexican name for the turkey, H huexo 
lotl," is one of those curious combinations of 
letters which we find only in that language. 
The Spaniards called it the peacock of New 
Spain; and it is supposed by those who are 
learned in such matters, that it was introduced 
into England in 1530. "The assertion," says 
Mrs. Lee, "that if you take a cock or hen, 
hold its head down, and draw a circle round it 
in chalk, it will not go beyond that circle, will 
equally apply to the turkey, and of course is 
equally unaccountable." Of its sagacity, Mr. 
Audubon thus speaks : " While at Henderson, 
on the Ohio, I had a fine male turkey, which 
had been reared from its earliest youth under 
my care. It became so tame that it would fol- 
low any person who called it, and was the fa- 
vorite of the little village. Yet it would never 
roost with the tame turkeys ; but regularly be- 
took itself at night to the roof of the house, 
where it remained till dawn. When two years 
old, it began to fly to the woods ; where it re- 
mained for a considerable part of the day, and 
returned to the inclosure as night approached. 
It continued this practice till the following 
spring, when I saw it several times fly from its 
roosting-place to the top of a high cotton-live, 
on the bank of the Ohio; from which, after 
resting n little, it would sail to the opposite 



206 FIRESIDE READING. 

shore, the river there being nearly half a mile 
wide, and return toward night. One morning 1 
saw it fly off at a very early hour to the woods, 
in another direction, and took no particular 
notice of the circumstance. Several days 
elapsed, but the bird did not return. I was 
going toward some lakes near Green river, to 
shoot, when, having walked about five miles, 1 
saw a fine, large gobbler cross the path before 
me, moving leisurely along. Turkeys being 
then in prime condition for the table, I ordered 
my dog to chase it and put it up. The animal 
went off with great rapidity; and as it ap- 
proached the turkey, I saw, with great surprise, 
that the latter paid little attention. Juno was 
on the point of seizing it, when she suddenly 
stopped, and turned her head toward me. I 
hastened to them ; but you may easily conceive 
my surprise when I saw my own favorite bird, 
and discovered that it had recognized the dog, 
and would not fly from it, although the sight of 
a strange dog would have caused it to run off at 
once. A friend of mine being in search of a 
wounded deer, took the bird on his saddle before 
him, and carried it home for me. The follow- 
ing spring it was accidentally shot, having been 
taken for a wild bird, and brought to me, on 
being recognized by the red ribbon which it 
had round its neck." 



THE TURKEY. 207 

We copy a strange occurrence, which took 
place in Manchester, from Captain Brown's 
work : 

" A jeweler of that town, being away from 
home for two days, left in his shop a domesti- 
cated turkey. This bird, one of the largest of 
its kind, urged by hunger, swallowed about five 
thousand pounds worth of cut diamonds, and 
flew through a window in search of more sub- 
stantial nourishment. Being caught, killed, 
and cut up by a cook, he strangely puzzled his 
new possessor. The honest man, however, 
lodged the diamonds in the hands of his attor- 
ney, who restored them to the jeweler, when 
the newspapers made known the loss he had 
sustained ; and which was attributed to human 
thieves, as he never dreamed that the turkey 
had been the depredator." 

An instance of the generous courage of the 
bird is also taken from this gentleman's pages : 

" A gentleman of New York received a tur- 
key cock and hen, and a pair of Bantams, which 
he put into his yard with other poultry. Some 
time after, a large hawk suddenly made a pitch 
at the Bantam hen. She immediately gave the 
alarm ; when the turkey cock, who was at the 
distance of about two yards, and no doubt un- 
derstood the imminent danger of his old ac- 
quaintance and companion, ilew at the marauder 



208 FIRESIDE READING. 

with great violence, and gave him so severe a 
stroke with his spurs, as to knock him to a con- 
siderable distance ; and his timely aid completely 
saved the Bantam from being devoured." 

It appears, generally speaking, that the pro- 
pensity of the male turkey to destroy their young 
is overcome by education ; for he not only de- 
fends the hen from all harm during the time of 
hatching, but assists in the process, and attends 
the young brood with great assiduity. 

A strange story, however, is told by Dr. 
Stanley, who truly says, we have yet much to 
learn, if we would dive into the secrets of crea- 
tion: 

" A female turkey was shot just after her 
young had been hatched, and were not quite 
fledged. .For a time, the father of the brood 
hovered about the nest, uttering loud and 
menacing croakings, whenever any body ap- 
proached. At length, however, he disappeared, 
and absented himself for two or three days; he 
then returned with another mate, when the 
poor, half-starved nestlings were attacked with- 
out mercy by the step-mother ; who, after se- 
verely wounding, precipitated them from the 
nest. Two, however, were found at the foot of 
the tree with signs of life, and with great care 
and attention were reared at the Rectory, about 
half a mile distant, and after being slightly pin- 



THE TURKEY. 209 

ioned, were allowed their liberty ; but they sel- 
dom quitted the lawn or offices, roosting on a 
tree in the shrubbery. Here, however, they 
were soon discovered by the unnatural pair, who, 
for a long time, used to come at early dawn and 
pounce upon them with fierce cries." 

14 D 



II 



(numida.) 

rpHESE wild, pretty, speckled, gray and 
X white birds, with their wearying cry of 
"Go back, go back," are so numerous in parts 
of north-western Africa, that they get under 
the horse's feet as the traveler rides through 
the grass, and so bewildered are they when ap- 
proached, that it is scarcely possible to avoid 
trampling upon them. It is this sort of alarm 
which has procured for them the reputation of 
being silly birds, which they by no means deserve. 
Most persons know the wild flavor which 
their flesh retains even in captivity, and will 
not wonder at their having been held in such 
high estimation by those greatest epicures, the 
imperial Romans. They have been introduced 
into various parts of the world, and are much 
valued. They are cautious and suspicious in 
their new country, and run fast, which makes it 
very difficult to shoot them ; but a dog is a 
great assistance, for if pursued by one they in- 
210 



GUINEA-FOWLS. 211 

stantly become paralyzed with fear ; and they 
mount a tree to avoid it, almost the only occa- 
sion on which they use their wings, where they sit 
with outstretched necks, staring at their canine 
enemy. A curious method of catching them in 
Jamaica is spoken of by Mr. Gosse : "A small 
quantity of corn is steeped for a night in proof 
rum, and is then placed in a shallow vessel, with 
a little fresh rum, and the water expressed from 
the grated, bitter cassava. This is deposited 
within an inclosed ground, to which the depre- 
dators resort. A small quantity of the grated 
cassava is then strewn over it, and it is left. 
The fowls eat the medicated food eagerly, and 
are soon found reeling about intoxicated, unable 
to escape, and content with thrusting the head 
into a corner. Frequently, a large part of the 
flock is found dead from this cause. 

The following story is told by Mr. St. John : 
"A Guinea-fowl, whose mate had been con- 
demned to death for killing young poultry, 
took compassion on some orphan ducklings — 
the mother had been killed by a hawk — and 
led them about, calling them, and tending them 
with as much, or more care than their deceased 
parent. It was a most singular sight to see the 
Guinea-fowl quite changing her natural habits, 
and walking about, followed by a brood of 
young ducks. She never left them for a mo- 



212 FIRESIDE READING. 

ment, excepting when she retired to her nest 
to lay ; and even then, if the ducks uttered any 
cry of alarm, on the approach of dogs or chil- 
dren, their step-mother came flying over bushes 
and fences in a most furious hurry. Indeed, she 
became quite the terror of the children, run- 
ning after them and pecking their legs if they 
came too near to her adopted brood ; although 
at other times she was rather a wild and shy 
bird. The ducks had a habit of hunting for 
worms in the dusk of the evening, and the poor 
Guinea-hen, much against her inclination and 
natural propensities, thought it necessary al- 
ways to accompany them. Frequently, tired 
out, she used to fly up to roost; but always 
kept her eye on the young ducks, and on the 
least alarm came bustling down to protect them 
at any hour of the night." 



III. 

farfriiip. 

(PERDIX.) 

PARTRIDGES are brave little birds, full of 
tricks and wiles to decoy intruders from 
their nests, which are on the ground; such as 
pretending to be lame, that they may be run 
after in a contrary direction, and valiantly giv- 
ing battle when close approach endangers their 
young. "A person," says Captain Brown, 
" engaged in a field not far from my resi- 
dence, had his attention arrested by two par- 
tridges, male and female, engaged in battle 
with a carrion crow ; so absorbed were they in 
the contest, that they actually held the crow till 
it was seized, and taken from them by the spec- 
tator of the scene. Upon search, the young 
birds — very lately hatched — were found among 
the grass, and probably the crow had attempted 
to carry off one of them, when he was attacked 
by the parents." 

These birds are not domesticated without ex- 
treme difficulty, if ever; and yet iliev will place 

' 213 



214 FIRESIDE READING. 

their nests in the immediate vicinity of man. 
A curious newspaper-story, but well authen- 
ticated, shows that they derive a feeling of pro- 
tection from human beings. "A game-keeper 
heard an old partridge, as if in distress, in a 
field of oats, and judging that some enemy was 
among her young, he leaped over a hedge to 
examine into the matter ; but not seeing any 
thing, and the old bird continuing to run around 
him in distress, he made further search among 
the corn, and at last found a large snake in the 
midst of the infant-brood. Willing to see if 
any mischief had been done, he immediately 
cut open the snake's belly; when two young 
partridges ran from their prison, and joined 
their distressed mother, but two others were 
found in the rapacious reptile's maw, which 
were quite dead." 

Among the rare instances of partridges be- 
coming tame, Dr. Stanley gives an account of 
one, which being reared in a clergyman's family, 
attended the parlor at breakfast time, and used 
to stretch itself before the fire, as if to enjoy 
the warmth. 

There are several species ; and those of north- 
western Africa are brown, speckled with white, 
and most abundant. In northern regions, they 
get under the snow, and the plumage of these 
shows the care which our heavenly Father takes 



PARTRIDGES. 215 

of all his creatures; for each feather is, as it 
were, doubled. If disturbed they burrow under 
the snow for a considerable distance, but they 
are caught in numbers by traps. 

At Mark's Hall, in Essex, a male and female 
partridge, when their own nest was destroyed, 
took to a pheasant's nest ; the hen belonging to 
which had been killed, and not only hatched, 
but brought up ten young pheasants. All dust 
themselves by rolling on the ground, in order to 
get rid of parasitical insects ; they feed morn- 
ing and evening ; and when they have not a 
nest, a number sit together at night, their tails 
in the center. The largest are found where 
there is an abundance of grain. 



IV. 

P#MS---§0Jte, 

(COLUMBA.) 

OF all birds, pigeons are the most widely 
spread over the earth; the frigid zone 
"being the only part which is destitute of their 
presence. In many places they are invested 
with a sacred character; the causes of which 
are evident. A dove was the messenger of 
Noah ; doves were among the religious offerings 
of the Jews; and it was in the form of a dove, 
that the Holy Spirit was seen to descend at the 
baptism of our blessed Savior. 

In every age pigeons have been domesticated ; 
and in certain parts of the east, Persia for in- 
stance, habitations, in the form of towers, are 
built for them on the outskirts of towns. 

The carrier pigeon is the most rapid in its 
flight, which is estimated at about a mile in a 
minute, generally speaking ; but there are many 
instances of much more rapid progress. It is 
recorded, that a pair accomplished nearly one 
hundred and fifty miles in an hour, when they 
216 



PIGEONS — DOVES. 217 

returned to their home, guided by some instinct- 
ive power, of which we possess no knowledge. 

The ring-dove is the largest species of British 
pigeons, with its sober, but delicately-colored 
plumage, and the dark ring round its neck ; and 
large migrations from the north often increase 
its abundance in that country. The turtle-dove 
visits England about the beginning of May, 
having passed the winter in Africa, and leaves 
during the month of September. 

The accounts of the numbers of passenger- 
pigeons which assemble in immense flocks in 
North America, might be supposed exaggera- 
tions, if those to whom we owe the reports were 
not of unimpeachcd veracity ; the name of Wil- 
son alone stamps the statement with accuracy. 
He says they are attracted to certain spots for 
the sake of some favorite food ; and Audubon 
declares, that " the air is so filled with them, 
as to cause darkness, and they continue to ar- 
rive for three days, spreading around them that 
peculiar odor which proceeds from them." Ac- 
cording to his calculations one flock consisted of 
one hundred and fifteen millions, one hundred 
and thirty-six thousand, aud it was three hours 
passing over a given spot. The noise of their 
coming was like that of a hard gale at sou. 
The boughs of the trees, in many instances, 
would not bear their weight, and broke down* 



218 FIRESIDE READING. 

The noise and confusion which they made, when 
they alighted, was indescribable, and many of 
the wild animals there before them, sneaked 
from the spot, howling as they went; but 
eagles, vultures, and men crowded round them, 
the two former for immediate gratification, the 
latter to secure them for future occasions, by 
killing them and putting them in salt. 

Pigeons are very numerous in Australia, and 
of great beauty; but the crown pigeon from 
New Guinea, Java, and the Malaccas, exceeds 
them all in beauty; the general plumage is a 
blue slate, and on the head is a tuft of finely 
and scantily-bearded feathers of a very pale 
brown. In Equatorial Africa is a small species 
of light green color, with bright blue eyes. 

The ring-tail pigeon of Jamaica suffers 
greatly from the attacks of musketoes; and 
it is clever enough to know that these insects 
can not bear smoke ; so when this rises from the 
woodman's fires, the bird flies into it to get rid 
of its tormentors. This is, however, very often 
fatal to its life, for the negroes light fires to at- 
tract it, and easily secure it when it comes. Its 
flesh is one of their great delicacies; the second 
being the fresh-water mullet, and the third, the 
black land-crab. The ring-tails are sometimes 
so fat, that they often burst when they fall to 
the ground, after being shot. 



PIGEONS — DOVES. 219 

There is a very beautiful and gentle pigeon in 
Jamaica called the white-belly, which is worthy 
of notice on account of its peculiar cry, which 
is uttered all day, in bad or good weather, and 
which sounds like "Rain — come — wet — me — 
through," the last syllable drawn out as if 
the bird were in the last stage of suffering ; 
whereas, says Mr. Gosse, "It is the cry of 
love and joy poured out in the exuberance of 
love and happiness." 

Captain Brown tells the following strange 
story of a pigeon which belonged to an inn- 
keeper at Cheltenham: "He was twelve years 
old when his partner deserted him. He seemed 
deeply affected by her inconstancy, but made 
no new alliance. Two years he remained 
widowed and forsaken, when at last his faith- 
less partner returned, and wished to share his 
domicile. She tried every scheme to gain ad- 
mittance, and to restore affection in her mate, 
without effect, and when she became insuffer- 
ably importunate, he pecked her severely, and 
drove her off; but in the course of the night 
she contrived to effect a lodgment. By dawn 
of day the male bird seemed to be so far recon- 
ciled as to alloAV her a share of his abode; but 
she died soon afterward. He seemed sensible, 
that, by her dissolution, he was placed more in a 
state of liberty than when she had voluntarily 



220 FIRESIDE READING. 

deserted him; he immediately took wing, and 
returned in a few hours after with a new 
partner." 

The same author states that pigeons are fond 
of music, and as proof quotes the well-known 
story told by Mrs. Piozzi, and adds that a Mi\ 
Leigh, of Cheshire, " whose daughter was a fine 
performer on the harpsichord, observed that, 
whenever she played one particular song, and 
only that one, a pigeon would descend from an 
adjacent dove-house to the room-window, where 
she sat, listened to her apparently with pleasure, 
and when she had finished returned to the dove- 
house." 

One of those strange attachments which birds 
feel for other animals is related by Dr. Stanley : 
" The pigeon had made her nest in a loft, much 
infested with rats, which had more than once 
destroyed her eggs, or devoured her young ones. 
Her repeated losses at length induced her to re- 
build her nest in another part of the loft, where 
a cat was rearing three kittens, with whom she 
contrived to form a strong friendship. They 
fed from the same dish, and when the cat went 
out into the field, the pigeon was often observed 
to be fluttering near her. The pigeon, aware 
of the advantage of her protection, had placed 
her nest close to the straw-bed of the cat, and 
there in safety reared two broods of young ones ; 



PIGEONS — DOVES. 221 

and in return for the protection she experienced 
from the cat, she became a defender of the 
young kittens, and would often attack, with 
beak and wings, any person approaching too 
near." 



SECTION V. 

WADERS, OR SHORE-BIRDS. 

(GEALL(E.) 

BY means of their long legs, destitute of 
feathers, the waders are able to enter shal- 
low water, and there seek their food ; their long 
neck keeping proportion with their legs. They 
do not, however, always live near water, for 
some inhabit the most wild and sandy plains; 
and there they pursue a vegetable diet. There 
is great variety in the formation of the beak, 
and the number of their toes. 
222 



(STRUTHIO.) 

THE largest birds now in existence are the 
ostriches, which inhabit both the old and the 
new world. Their wings are so extremely short 
that they are only useful to their owners when 
running, at which time they spread them open, 
and keep them constantly flapping. Their 
beaks are flattened, and blunt at the end. The 
beautiful texture of their loose and flexible 
feathers is seen daily, for they are universally 
worn by ladies, when walking in the street, or fre- 
quenting the royal drawing-room. Their large 
eyes are fringed with eye-lashes, and their crop 
is enormous ; their legs are of immense strength ; 
they give the most formidable kicks when at- 
tacked, and are among the swiftest of animals. 
Ancient people used to call them camel-birds, 
and their cleft — for they only have two toes — 
hoof-like feet, are padded underneath, similarly 
to those of camels. The callous pad of that 

animal's chest, on which it leans when reposing, 

223 



224 FIRESIDE HEADING. 

is also analogous to a pad on the breast-bone of 
ostriches. They are generally fierce to stran- 
gers, and are dangerous enemies; but become 
tame and gentle toward those whom they know, 
when they are in captivity. 

The strength and size of the ostrich has sug- 
gested to men the experiment of using them as 
animals of burden. The tyrant Firmius, who 
reigned in Egypt about the end of the third 
century, was frequently carried by large os- 
triches. Moore, an English traveler, relates that 
he had seen at Joar, in Africa, a man traveling 
on an ostrich. And Vallisnieri speaks of a 
young man, who exhibited himself upon one of 
these birds at Venice. In fine, M. Adanson 
saw, at the factory of Podor, two ostriches, 
which were yet young, of which the stronger 
went at a pace which would have distanced the 
fleetest English race-horse, with two negroes on 
its back. Whether this bird could be broken 
and tamed so as to carry its rider with the same 
safety and docility as a horse, is a different 
question ; and let it be remembered that, though 
the ostrich above mentioned ran for a short time 
faster than a race-horse, there is no reason to 
believe they could hold out so long. 

As the spoils of the ostrich are valuable, it is 
not to be wondered at that man has become their 
most assiduous pursuer. Eor this purpose, the 



THE OSTRICH. 225 

Arabians train up their best and fleetest horses, 
and hunt the ostrich still in view. Perhaps, of 
all varieties of the chase, this, though the most 
laborious, is yet the most entertaining. As 
soon as the hunter comes within sight of his 
prey, he puts on his horse with a gentle gallop, 
so as to keep the ostrich still in sight ; yet not 
so as to terrify him from the plain into the 
mountains. Upon observing himself, therefore, 
pursued at a distance, the bird begins to run at 
first, but gently; either insensible of his danger, 
or sure of escaping. In this situation he some- 
what resembles a man at full speed ; his wings, 
like two arms, keep working with a motion cor- 
respondent to that of his legs; and his speed 
would very soon snatch him from the view of 
his pursuers, but, unfortunately for the silly 
creature, instead of going off in a direct line, 
he takes his course in circles ; while the hunters 
still make a small course within, relieve each 
other, meet him at unexpected turns, and keep 
him thus constantly employed, still followed, 
for two or three days together. At last, spent 
with fatigue and famine, and finding all power 
of escape impossible, ho endeavors to hide him- 
self from those enemies he can not avoid, and 
covers his head in the sand, or the first thicket 
he meets. Sometimes, however, he attempts to 

face his pursuers; and, though in general the 
15 D 



226 FIRESIDE READING. 

most gentle animal in nature, when driven to 
desperation, lie defends himself with his beak, 
his wings, and his feet. Such is the force of 
his motion, that a man would be utterly unable 
to withstand him in the shock. 

Several hens are attached to one male, and 
they all lay their eggs in one nest, taking it in 
turns to hatch them by day, when they occa- 
sionally leave them to the heat of the sun alone. 
The male bird assumes the office at night, for 
he being more powerful, is better able to cope 
with the predatory animals which seeks the 
eggs; and jackals, tiger-cats, etc., are often 
found near the nest in the morning, quite dead, 
from the kicks and pecks of the ostrich. Su- 
pernumerary eggs are laid outside the nest, 
which are intended as nourishment for the young 
ones as soon as they leave the shell, and if the 
hens discover that the eggs in the nest have 
been touched during their absence, they break 
them all, and abandon the spot. In conse- 
quence of this, when the natives of the neigh- 
borhood wish to secure any, they draw them out 
with a long, hooked stick, and carefully efface 
the marks of their footsteps. 

The brains of ostriches are reckoned by epi- 
cures very fine eating, and the flesh of the 
young birds is said to be delicious ; their cry is 
a sort of chuckle and hissing by day, and by 



THE OSTRICH. 227 

night a roaring not unlike that of the lion ; 
they stand from eight to nine feet high, and no 
substance is too indigestible to be swallowed by 
them ; even stones and pieces of metals being 
taken with impunity : large nails, and masses of 
brick, the size of a man's fist, have been found 
in their stomachs. Some of the natives of the 
interior of southern Africa fasten the black 
body feathers of the ostrich on to poles, and 
with them divert the attention of a charging 
lion. The bird ranges in weight from 100 
to 300 lbs.; their thigh equals a large leg of 
mutton in size, and the clatter of their feet re- 
sembles the trotting of a horse. The Bushmen 
stalk them when disguised with one of their 
skins, imitate their gestures, and when they 
come near, shoot them with a poisoned arrow. 
In eastern Africa, they themselves are trained 
to stalk wild animals, feed with the flocks of 
their masters, and are hobbled by night. 

The ostriches of South America arc smaller 
than those of the old world, and sometimes lay 
as many as eighty eggs in one nest. They are 
dangerous during the time of sitting on their 
eggs, and have been known to attack even men. 

Two fine African ostriches were kept in the 
llotuuda of the Jardin des Plantes, in Paris, 
which were very tame, ate from the hands of 
visitors, and attached themselves to those who 



228 FIRESIDE READING. 

attended upon them. The female met with a 
very painful death; for some glaziers, when 
mending the skylight at the top of their abode, 
dropped a triangular piece of glass into the 
compartment occupied by those birds; the hen 
swallowed it, and died in great agony two days 
after. She was dissected, and the cause was 
thus ascertained ; her poor throat being lacer- 
ated from one end to the other. Her com- 
panion pined after her for a few weeks, and 
then died also. 

Baron Denon used to speak of an alarm which 
he received when in Egypt, from these birds. 
He, attended by a party of soldiers, was mak- 
ing some drawings from the antiquities there, 
when, at a distance, some clouds of sand be- 
tokened the approach of living beings. They 
were fast approaching, when some one mounted 
on to a part of the ruin close by, saw their 
heads occasionally, and declared them to be a 
party of enemies, either English or Arab, and 
they advanced so quickly, that there was no 
time to be lost; upon which the Baron was 
obliged to gather up his materials and take to 
flight. Still the party approached, and the 
minds of the Erenchmen were made up to be 
captured, when a troop of ostriches rushed past 
them. 



II 

(geus.) 

THE long, thick, and strong beak of this 
family of waders, which is generally pointed, 
causes almost all of them to make singular 
noises ; and to see the Demoiselle dance, with 
its head on one side, its wings partially opened, 
while it apparently keeps time with the shut- 
ting of its large and pointed mandibles, is a 
most amusing spectacle. Cranes are, generally 
speaking, affectionate birds, with long, thin legs, 
bright eyes, and erect carriage ; which gives 
them a graceful appearance. The royal, or 
crown crane, possesses beautiful plumage, and 
on its head has a tuft of straw-colored, scantily- 
bearded feathers. It is from western Africa, 
and is easily tamed. Two of them were kept 
in an aviary in England, and after some time 
one of them died ; and the other pined, and 
seemed to be dying, when a large looking-glass 
was put into his cage. He beheld himself, and 
fancied he saw his companion; he walked baek- 

229 



230 FIRESIDE READING. 

ward and forward before it, making various 
gestures; of course he thought these were re- 
turned, and he was so consoled that he recov- 
ered his health, and lived for several years 
afterward. 

Bishop Heber speaks of the hurgita, or gi- 
gantic crane of India, which is twice as tall as 
the tallest heron, which acts the part of a scav- 
enger, lounges about with perfect fearlessness, 
and even jostles foot-passengers out of their 
paths. It has a large blue and red pouch, which 
is an air-vessel, employed as occasion requires ; 
either to sustain it in its lofty flights, or to 
counteract the weight of its enormous beak, 
when dipping it into the water, without which it 
would probably topple ever; and also to sustain 
it when swimming. 

The crane is a very social bird, and they are 
seldom seen alone. Their usual method of fly- 
ing or sitting is in flocks of fifty or sixty to- 
gether ; and while a part feed, the rest stand 
like sentinels upon duty. It for the most part 
subsists upon vegetables ; and is known in every 
country of Europe, except England. As they 
are birds of passage, they are seen to depart 
and return regularly at those seasons when their 
provision invites or repels them. They gen- 
erally leave Europe about the latter end of au- 
tumn, and return in the beginning of summer. 



THE CRANE. 231 

In the inland parts of the continent, they are 
seen crossing the country, in flocks of fifty or 
a hundred, making from the northern regions 
toward the south. In these migrations, how- 
ever, they are not so resolutely Dent upon going 
forward, but that if a field of corn oifers in their 
way, they will stop awhile to regale upon it : 
on such occasions they do incredible damage, 
chiefly in the night ; and the husbandman, who 
lies down in joyful expectation, rises in the 
morning to see his fields laid entirely waste, by 
an enemy whose march is too swift for his 
vengeance to overtake. 

The cold arctic region seems to be this bird's 
favorite abode. They come down into the more 
southern parts of Europe rather as visitants than 
inhabitants. 

In their journeys it is amazing to conceive the 
bights to which they ascend when they fly. 
Their note is the loudest of all birds ; and is 
often heard in the clouds, when the bird itself 
is entirely unseen. As it is light for its size, 
and spreads a large expanse of wing, it is ca- 
pable of floating, at the greatest hights, where 
the air is lightest; and as it secures its safety, 
and is entirely out of the reach of men, it lies 
in tracks which it would be too fatiguing for 
any other birds to move forward in. 



III. 

(ardea.) 

HERONS, and many others of the same 
family of birds, have a strong propensity 
to attack the eyes of all against whom they 
have hostile feelings, and even when they have 
been supposed to be insensible, from wounds, to 
all around them, they have suddenly started up, 
and pecked an eye out of their adversary with 
unerring aim. In Captain Owen's Voyages on 
the Coasts of Africa, we meet with the following 
passage: "I winged a beautiful aigrette, that 
was passing overhead, and brought it to the 
ground; when, as I was in the act of picking 
it up, it struck at my eye with its beak; and 
had it not been for my glasses, must inevitably 
have reduced it to perpetual darkness. I have 
since heard of a gentleman, who, under similar 
circumstances, was not so fortunate ; he still 
lives, and I shall feel pleasure if, by stating this 
incident, it should be the means of saving others 

from so distressing a circumstance. " 
282 



HERONS. 233 

The mournful-looking herons, generally, have 
a very slender neck, with a plume of fine, hang- 
ing feathers at the base, and another from the 
back of the head. "I was strongly impressed," 
says Mrs. Lee, "with their beauty on seeing 
a white one in the garden of Dr. Neill, of 
Edinburgh, standing with one leg up perfectly 
motionless, amid the exuberant growth of flowers 
and shrubs. As we came suddenly upon him, 
I was taken by surprise, and stopped: 'Is not 
that bird well stuffed?" asked the owner. 'No 
stuffed bird ever looked like that,' I replied ; 
for I had not then seen Mr. Waterton's per- 
formances ; and at that moment the heron's eye 
glistened as if to convince me of his being 
alive His real motive, however, was to seek 
the pellets of bread which Dr. Neill always car- 
ried in his pockets for his favorites; and the 
bird gravely stalked up to him to receive the 
usual donation. They are all great devourers 
of fish, and five eels were found in the stomach 
of one which was shot." 

Mr St. John gives a curious history of a su- 
perstition connected with one of these birds: 
"An old woman lived in some woods, below a 
lake, who was supposed to be a witch, and to cause 
infinite mischief both to man and beast. The 
minister of the parish tried to annoy and resist 
her, and so often attacked her spiritually, that 



234 FIRESIDE READING. 

she suddenly disappeared, no one knew where; 
but that she was in the neighborhood no one 
doubted, because of the unaccountable diseases 
among living creatures. A deer-poacher about 
the lake, however, saw her issue from a cairn of 
stones, and go across the country through the 
air; after which, upon keeping watch, she was 
often seen to flit to and fro, on which occasions 
she was often shot at in vain. At last, a man 
who had been a soldier, when over his cups, re- 
solved to free the country of the plague ; and 
to make sure of success, he loaded his gun with 
a double quantity of gunpowder, a crooked six- 
pence, and some plated buttons. He lay down 
upon the hill and watched the witch leave the 
cairn, then crawling to the spot, he there waited 
her return. All night did he remain, consoling 
himself, however, by frequent applications to 
the whisky-bottle. At last, in the gray twilight 
of morning, he heard a queer noise, and saw 
the witch herself, in the shape of a large bird, 
coming directly toward him, and he wished him- 
self at home, particularly as his fingers were so 
stiff with cold, that he could with difficulty pull 
the trigger. At last he managed to fire, just as 
the witch was over his head, and going to alight 
upon the cairn. The next morning he was 
found half asleep, half in a swoon; his gun 
burst, his collar-bone nearly broken, and a fine 



HERONS. 235 

large heron, shot through and through, lying 
by his side, and which all the country believed 
to be the sorceress." 

Of the power of the heron's beak, Captain 
Brown gives an example. "A gentleman, be- 
longing to the parish of Bothwell, being on a 
shooting excursion, accompanied by a small 
spaniel, observed a heron wading a little above 
a waterfall. He fired, wounded it, and sent his 
dog into the stream to bring it to land. As 
soon as the dog had come within its reach, the 
heron drew back its head, and then, with all its 
force, struck him in the ribs with its bill. The 
gentleman again fired, and killed the heron ; 
but it had well revenged itself; the dog and 
the bird floated dead together down the foaming 
waterfall." 

The people of the Feroe Islands believe that 
the foot of a heron worn in the fisherman's 
pocket, will give him success in his sport; and 
in many parts of England it has been, and may 
still be, believed that the heron possesses some 
oil which attracts fishes, particularly eels. It is 
said never to know when it has food enough ; 
one was killed whose stomach contained thirty- 
nine trouts. 

The bittern, which is a variety of the heron, 
possesses a very extraordinary property, that of 
emitting a very bright light from its breast ; 



236 FIRESIDE READING. 

and it is said that all birds of the heron kind 
possess the same power. There is a consider- 
able space bare of feathers, filled up with tufts 
of down, to which adheres a sort of clammy, oily 
substance, which is supposed by some to be a lure 
to fishes. " The heron's feathers are also found, 
occasionally loaded with a blue powder, which 
may possibly serve its purpose in some way not 
hitherto discovered. They are birds of passage, 
but so punctual in their goings and comings, as 
to have been considered as gifted with reason- 
ing powers." 

When falconry was in fashion, the chase of 
the heron was a favorite amusement. Somerville 
has described the contest between the hawks and 
the heron, and the death of the latter : 

" Now like a wearied stag, 
That stands at bay, the heron provokes their rage ; 
Close by his languid wing, in downy plumes 
Covers his fatal beak, and cautious hides 
The well-dissembled fraud. The falcon darts 
Like lightning from above, and in her breast 
Receives the latent death ; down plump she falls, 
Bounding from earth, and with her trickling gore 
Defiles her gaudy plumage. See, alas ! 
The falconer in despair, his favorite bird 
Dead at his feet ; as of his dearest friend 
He weeps her fate ; he meditates revenge, 
He storms, he foams, he gives a loose to rage 
Nor wants he long the means ; the hern fatigued, 
Borne down by numbers, yields, and prone on earth 
He drops : his cruel foes, wheeling around, 
Insult at will." 



IV. 

(CICONIA.) 

STORKS inhabit northern Europe only dur- 
ing the summer months, and the rest of their 
time is spent in Africa and in the east. They 
are birds of good augury, and in some countries, 
especially Germany, they are much encouraged 
and cherished. They return to the same nest 
every year ; and if they ever desert it, some 
dire misfortune is anticipated. There is a curi- 
ous belief in the above country, that they pay a 
sort of rent; the first year a quill feather — 
some say cut into a pen — the second, an egg ; 
the third, a young stork. The fourth year they 
begin again with the feather, and go through the 
same routine as long as they stay, and they lay 
them on the dung-hill before the barn-door, the 
barn and the house being under the same roof. 
They shake and beat their prey before swallow- 
ing it, and one species affords those light, ele- 
gant feathers called marabouts, which lie under 

237 



238 FIRESIDE READING. 

their wings. " There is a peculiar gravity of 
deportment about them," says Mrs. Lee, "which 
it is impossible to disturb ; an effort which I 
have frequently made, for three of them used 
every evening to place themselves on a boat by 
the shore of the Gambia, which lay keel upward, 
and nothing provoked them to activity but a 
terrier dog; and then, after watching him with 
immovable bodies, but moving eyes, they all 
three came down at the same time, hopped after 
him on their long legs, flapping their wings, but 
never catching him. They used to come into 
the garden of the government house, stand with 
their great beaks thrust between the railings of 
the veranda of the house ; and making a clap- 
ping noise with them, to induce us to feed them. 
One frequented the market-place, at Sierra 
Leone, which was a licensed thief, his malprac- 
tices only exciting a laugh. They are extremely 
voracious, and prefer every thing which can be 
found in a marsh. In the craw of one of them, 
Dr. Carpenter tells us, were found a land-tor- 
toise, ten inches long, and the entire body of a 
large black cat." 

Many stories are told of the intelligence of 
storks ; among others, Captain Brown relates the 
following: "A tame stork had taken up his 
abode for some years in the college-yard at 
Zabingen. Upon a neighboring house was a 



THE STORK. 239 

nest, in which the storks that annually resorted 
to the place used to hatch their eggs. One day 
in autumn, a young collegian fired a shot at 
this nest. Probably the stork that was sitting 
on the nest was wounded by the shot, for after 
that time he did not fly out of it for several 
weeks. However, at the usual time, he took his 
departure with the rest of the storks. In the 
ensuing spring, a stork appeared on the roof of 
the college, who, by clapping his wings, seemed 
to invite the tame stork to come to him. The 
latter, however, could not accept the invitation, 
as his wings were clipped. After some days the 
wild stork came down into the yard; the tame 
one went to meet him, clapping his wings as if 
to bid him welcome, but was immediately at- 
tacked by the other with great fury. Some 
persons protected him, but the wild stork often 
repeated his attempts, and incommoded him 
throughout the whole summer. The next spring, 
instead of a single stork, four of them came at 
one time into the yard, and attacked the tamo 
one. As he was unable, of himself, to contend 
with such a number of adversaries, the cocks, 
hens, geese, ducks, in short, all the poultry in 
the yard came to his assistance, and rescued him 
from his enemies. The people of the house now 
paid greater attention than before bo this stork, 
and prevented his being further molested during 



240 FIRESIDE READING. 

that year. But, in the beginning of the third 
spring, upward of twenty storks rushed at once 
into the yard with the utmost fury, and killed 
the tame stork before either man or beast could 
afford him assistance." 

In the ensuing story, the tame stork had a 
temporary victory. "A farmer, near Ham- 
burg, having caught one, took it home to his 
yard, thinking it would be an excellent compan- 
ion for a tame stork in his possession; but 
jealousy prevented this. The first inmate fell 
upon him, and beat him so severely that he left 
the premises. About four months afterward, 
the defeated stork returned to the farm-yard, 
accompanied by three other storks, who made 
a furious assault upon the tame one, and killed 
him." 

Further instances of jealousy toward female 
birds have occurred among storks ; and from 
them we select the following : 

" A French surgeon at Smyrna, wishing to 
procure a stork, and finding great difficulty, on 
account of the extreme veneration in which 
they are held by the Turks, stole all the eggs 
out of a nest, and replaced them with those of a 
hen: in process of time the young chickens 
came forth, much to the astonishment of Mr. 
and Mrs. Stork. In a short time Mr. Stork 
went off, and was not seen for two or three days ; 



THE STORK. 241 

when he returned with an immense crowd of his 
companions, who all assembled in the place, and 
formed a circle, taking no notice of the numer- 
ous spectators, which so unusual an occurrence 
had collected. Mrs. Stork was brought forward 
into the midst of the circle, and after some con- 
sultation, the whole flock fell upon her and tore 
her to pieces ; after which they immediately dis- 
persed, and the nest was entirely abandoned." 
A similar case occurred on the estate of a 
gentleman of landed property near Berlin, 
which we quote here in corroboration of those 
extraordinary occurrences, which show so much 
reflection, so much feeling, and also the powers 
of communication which these birds possess. A 
pair of storks built a nest on one of the chim- 
neys belonging to the above gentleman, and he 
climbed up to it, and found an egg, which he 
took away, and replaced with a goose's egg. 
The stork did not appear conscious of this, and 
the egg was hatched : when the male bird, per- 
ceiving the difference, flew round the nest sev- 
eral times with loud screams, and disappeared 
for three days, during which time the female 
took care of the strange offspring. Early on 
the fourth morning, the inmates were disturbed 
by loud and discordant cries, in a field fronting 
the house, when they saw five hundred storks 
assembled ; one, standing about twenty yards 

If) D 



242 FIRESIDE READING. 

before the rest, apparently haranguing his com- 
panions, who stood listening with evident emo- 
tion. When this bird had finished his discourse 
he retired ; another rose, and seemed to address 
the assembly ; he was followed by several others, 
till about eleven o'clock, when they all rose at 
one time, uttering dismal cries. The female 
remained on her nest, watching their motions 
with apparent trepidation. In a short time the 
body of storks made toward her, headed by one 
bird, supposed to be the mate, who struck her 
vehemently three or four times, and knocked 
her out of the nest; the whole mass then fol- 
lowed up the attack, till they had not only de- 
stroyed the female stork-— who made no attempt 
either to escape or defend herself — but the 
gosling, and utterly removed every vestige of 
the nest itself. Since that time no stork has 
been seen in that neighborhood. It is supposed 
in Germany, that a stork never builds on a bad 
man's house, and if a person be suspected, even 
of murder, the people will scarcely suffer him 
to be brought before a magistrate, if a stork 
have built upon his house. 

A large hospital has been built at Fez for 
nursing sick cranes and storks, and burying 
them when dead : this arises from the belief 
that they are human beings from some distant 
island, who assume that shape in order to visit 



THE STOEK 243 

Barbary, and who return to their own country, 
and resume the human form. They, are among 
the sacred birds of the Egyptians. 



SECTION VI. 

WEB-FOOTED, OR AQUATIC BIRDS. 

(palmipedes.) 

THE manner in which this aquatic order of 
birds is adapted to the element which it 
inhabits, is another instance of the fitness of 
all God's creatures for their habits and purposes. 
Their feet have four toes, three of which are 
placed in front, and the fourth, which is very 
short, is turned behind. A membrane extends 
between the three front toes, so as to unite them 
in a sort of paddle. The legs are short, and 
placed far back upon the body; the close, 
shining plumage, has a thick down between the 
stems of the feathers, which is imbued with an 
oily juice, so as to form a thick and compact 
covering. They have long necks, which enable 
them to dip their beaks deep into the water for 
food; and the breast-bone is longer than that of 
other birds, and comes further under the body, 
so as to protect their digestive organs from the 
water. A few of the families only have we 
space to notice. 
244 



1. 

THESE birds live upon the sea, and have ex- 
tremely short wings ; those of the Patagonian 
penguins are covered with feathers which look 
like scales. Their legs are placed further back 
upon the body than those of any other birds; 
and the penguins can scarcely be said to stand, 
for they rest upon their legs as they lie upon the 
ground, and drag themselves upon their bellies 
to their nests. Their flesh is black, but good 
to eat, and they are courageous in disposition. 
Mr. Darwin placed himself between one of the 
Patagonian penguins and the water, at the Falk- 
land Islands, and till it reached the sea, it reg- 
ularly fought and drove him backward. Noth- 
ing less than heavy blows would have stopped 
him ; every inch gained was firmly kept, and he 
stood close before his adversary, erect, and de- 
termined, except now and then, when he rolled 
his head from side to side in a very odd man- 
ner, as if the power of vision only lay in the 
anterior and basal part of each eve. lie >vas 



246 FIRESIDE READING. 

the jackass penguin, so called from the habit, 
when ashore, of throwing the head backward, 
and making a loud, strange noise, very like the 
braying of that animal; but while at sea, and 
undisturbed, his note is very deep, and sounds 
very solemn at night. When diving, his little 
plumeless wings serve as fins, and, when crawl- 
ing, they answer the purpose of fore-legs. 
When they come to the surface they rise with 
a spring, and dive again like a fish. They feed 
on Crustacea; and to facilitate the digestion of 
the hard coverings of these animals, they swal- 
low substances which will crush them. Sir 
James Ross, in his voyage in the antarctic re- 
gions, mentions having found, in the stomachs 
of great penguins, from two to ten pounds 
weight of pebbles, consisting of granite, quartz, 
and trappean rocks. 



II. 

(PROCELLAEIA.) 

THE noble song of " The Stormy Petrel," 
has made the name and habits of these 
birds familiar to landsmen, while those who 
have been to sea, hail them as old friends. 
They are said, when they assemble in numbers 
round a vessel, to portend a storm. 

The beaks of the petrels look as if a piece 
were joined on to the tip, and they have only a 
claw in place of a great toe. They move on the 
water as if they were walking on the tips of 
their wings, and always have a provision of oil 
in their stomachs, which they eject over their 
enemies. Dr. Scoresby says, that the fulmer 
petrels are so bold, from greediness, that they 
will advance within a few yards of the men who 
arc cutting up the whales, and it is curious to 
sec the voracity with which they seize the enor- 
mous quantity of nit which they devour. 

The storm petrels are curious little birds, 
which seem incapable of diving, and seldom 

•J 17 



248 FIRESIDE READING. 

swim, "but are generally seen flying or gliding 
over the surface of the waves, mounting upon 
their ridges, and descending into the hollows, 
often so close as to seem walking on the water. 
Hence the name petrel, or Little Peter, be- 
stowed upon them, in allusion to St. Peter's 
progress on the waves. In stormy weather 
they frequently fly in the wake of a ship, to 
shelter themselves from the wind; and on ac- 
count of this habit they are held in aversion by 
sailors, who, imagining them to be predictive of 
tempests, and in league with witches, bestow on 
them the opprobrious appellation of 'Mother 
Carey's chickens.' Their flight is rapid and 
buoyant; they breed in holes and crevices of 
the rocky coasts; and are more numerous in 
the antarctic than in the northern seas." 

The following song to the ." Stormy Petrel," 
by W. B. Proctor, is so natural in its description 
of the habits of this bird, that we give place 
to it: 

** A thousand miles from land are we, 
Tosssing about on the roaring sea ; 
From billow to bounding billow cast, 
Like fleecy snow on the stormy blast: 
The sails are scattered abroad like weeds, 
The strong masts shake like quivering reeds, 
The mighty cables, and iron chains, 
The hull, which all earthly strength disdains, 
They strain and they crack, and hearts like stone 
Their natural hard proud strength disown. 



PETRELS. 249 

Up and down ! — up and down ! 

From the base of the wave to the billow's crown, 

And amidst the flashing and feathery foam, 

The stormy petrel finds a home — 

A home, if such a place may be, 

For he who lives on the wide, wide sea, 

On the craggy ice, in the frozen air, 

And only seeketh her rocky lair 

To warm her young, and to teach them to spring 

At once o'er the waves on their stormy wing ! 

O'er the deep ! — o'er the deep ! 

"Where the whale and the shark, and swordfish sleep. 

Outflying the blast and the driving rain, 

The petrel telleth her tale — in vain ; 

For the mariner curseth the warning bird 

Which bringeth him news of the storm unheard I 

Ah ! thus does the prophet of good or ill 

Meet hate from the creatures he serveth still 

Yet he ne'er falters : so, petrels, spring 

Once more o'er the waves on thy stormy wing !" 



III. 

(diomedea.) 

THE enormous albatross, the heaviest of all 
aquatic birds, is chiefly a frequenter of the 
southern hemisphere; but it has been asserted 
that they have been also seen in the north, in a 
similar latitude. They have large, strong beaks, 
and utter loud cries; they sometimes measure 
sixteen feet from the tip of one wing to that 
of the other : and they sail majestically in large 
circles, being almost always in the air, with 
scarcely a perceptible motion of their wings, or 
lowering themselves almost to the surface of the 
water, and rising again without apparent exer- 
tion, with or against the wind, in calm or in 
storm. One was known to follow a ship which 
made two hundred miles a day, for forty-eight 
hours ; and besides these miles, from its irregu- 
lar flight, it must have passed over three or 
four times that distance. They dart with un- 
erring aim and great force on their prey, as it 

swims on the top of the waves, and a man who 
250 



ALBATROSSES. 251 

fell overboard near the island of St. Paul's, was 
killed by them ; for although the boat was low- 
ered immediately, nothing was found of him ex- 
cept his hat, pierced through and through by 
the beaks of three albatrosses, who had marked 
him, pecked him on the head, and caused him 
to sink. 

The courtship of the albatrosses is said to be 
a regular pantomime, for they approach each 
other with much appearance of ceremony ; fre- 
quently touch each other's beak, swing their 
heads, and stand looking at each other with 
earnest attention. They usually lay but one 
egg, and it is a year before the young albatross 
can fly. They disgorge their food when they 
nourish their offspring, eat an enormous quantity 
of flying fishes, and when full are easily caught 
with a hook and line. 

The peculiar home of the great albatross is 
on the tropical seas, where he leads a wandering 
and adventurous life, roving over the midst of 
the ocean, and even crossing from one hcmis 
phcre to the other, in pursuit of the shoals of 
fishes on which he feeds. Sailing above the 
solitary ship becalmed in those fervid waters, 
beneath that "hot and copper sky," or breasting 
uninjured the tornado which threatens to over- 
whelm vessel and crew, the albatross is looked 
upon by the sailors with a sort of superstitious 



252 FIRESIDE READING. 

awe ; and the killing of one of these birds is, in 
their expectation, sure to be followed by some 
terrible disaster. On this superstition is founded 
that wonderfully-striking and original poem, 
" The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" the idea 
of which was suggested to Coleridge by a pas- 
sage in one of the old voyagers, who states that 
"his second captain, being a melancholy man, 
was possessed by a fancy that a long season of 
foul weather was owing to an albatross which 
had steadily pursued the ship ; upon which he 
shot the bird, but without mending their condi- 
tion." The concluding lines of the mariner's 
"ghostly tale," and which contains what may 
be called its moral, may well be commended to 
the consideration of all our readers : 

u Farewell, farewell ! but this I tell 
To thee, thou wedding guest : 
He prayeth well who loveth well 
Both man, and bird, and beast. 

He prayeth best who loveth best 

All things both great and small ; 
For the dear God who loveth us 

He made and loveth all." 



IV. 

(laeus.) 

THESE denizens of the sea-shore and the 
ocean, are seen at immense distances from 
land, and are spread all over the globe. 

A gull was partly domesticated at Dr. Neill's, 
of Edinburgh. It was picked up at sea in the 
Erith of Forth, and brought to Dr. Neill by a 
Newhaven fisher-boy ; it was uninjured, but not 
fully fledged, and willingly fed with some ducks 
on potatoes and kitchen refuse. It became fa- 
miliar, would peep in at the kitchen windows for 
a piece of fat meat, and follow a female servant, 
calling loudly for food. It remained for some 
time, when suddenly he took his flight toward 
the north. In the October of the same year, 
the servant saluted Dr. Neill, on his return 
home one day, with, " Sir, big gull is come 
back ;" and, in fact he had returned to his old 
haunts, and recognized a tame heron, with 
whom he had formerly been very intimate ; but 
at that time he went in the morning and re- 

258 



254 FIRESIDE READING. 

turned in the evening, and the servant, wishing 
to secure him, put him in confinement. This 
was evidently so irksome to him, that he was 
released ; but it made him more shy and cautious 
than he had been. He, however, daily visited 
the garden, and took the food laid there for 
him. In the succeeding March, he disappeared, 
but returned in the autumn, and continued this 
practice for years. He became again shy when 
the above-mentioned servant died; but in the 
eighth winter, he returned, and brought another 
gull with him, supposed to be one of his off- 
spring, but which was soon shot by some chance 
sportsman. He continued his visits and fare- 
wells for seventeen years. In stormy weather 
he was sometimes absent for eight or ten days, 
so that it was near the end of February before 
his early departure attracted particular notice, 
or excited fear for his safety. He never again 
made his appearance. Speaking of a skua gull 
in his possession, Dr. Neill said, " Skua is still 
alive, and has now entered his twenty-fourth 
year ; has become gray, or at least pale-headed ; 
but is as lively, pugnacious, and fond of cheese 
and mutton as ever." 

Mr. Drosier, of Norfolk, gives the following 
description of a struggle between some gulls and 
an eagle: "As I was intently observing the 
majestic flight of the eagle, on a sudden he 



GULLS. 255 

altered his direction, and descended hurriedly, as 
if in the act of pouncing ; in a moment, five or 
six of the skuas passed over my head with an 
astonishing rapidity ; their wings partly closed, 
and perfectly steady, without the slightest waver 
or irregularity. They soon came up with the 
eagle, and a desperate engagement ensued. 
The short bark of the eagle was clearly to be 
heard above the cry of the skua, who never ven- 
tured to attack his enemy in front; but taking 
a short circle around him, till his head and tail 
were in a line, the gull made a desperate sweep 
or stoop, and striking the eagle on the back, he 
darted up again almost perpendicularly ; when, 
falling into the rear, he resumed his cowardly 
attack. Three or four of these birds thus pass- 
ing in quick succession, harassed the eagle most 
unmercifully. If, however, he turned his head, 
the gull quickly ascended without touching him. 
This engagement continued for some time, the 
eagle turning and wheeling as quickly as his 
ponderous wings would allow, and when he ap- 
proached some rocks, the gulls made off." 

A story, resembling one already told of a 
raven, may perhaps be forgiven for its drollery. 
A certain Major B., of North Berwick, put a bot- 
tle of champagne into a pond, in order to keep 
it cool for dinner. About half an hour after, 
hearing a great flutter and cackle going on in 



256 FIRESIDE READING. 

the garden, he went to see what was the matter, 
and found that two gulls were uproariously en- 
joying themselves over his champagne. They 
had contrived to break the bottle about its 
shoulder, by letting it fall hard on the pebbles, 
and no sooner was a breach effected, than they 
proceeded to regale themselves with the liquor. 
They were thoroughly tipsy, yet not so far gone 
as to be unconscious of the immorality of their 
proceedings, for immediately on catching a 
glimpse of the Major, they hopped off with a 
great cry of alarm, and were no more seen that 
afternoon. 

Boatswain gulls get their living by robbing 
other gulls ; their hawk-like swoops and courage 
making them always successful. Those most ex- 
posed to their attacks are the herring gulls, and 
kittiwakes, which chiefly feed on herrings; and 
when the shoals of these fishes appear, the birds 
express their joy by loud and discordant 
screams. 



V. 

(PELICANUS.) 

"AS one of the boats belonging to the good 
jljL ship Lord Mulgrave," says Mrs. Lee, 
"shot out of the creek of the river Gaboon, 
which led to the town of Naango, and passed the 
tall mangroves, which rose from the water, with 
their glistening leaves, and long, scarlet berries ; 
a row of white animals appeared at a distance, 
lining the shore, and to our eyes seemed motion- 
less. As we n eared them we found they were 
birds, all standing in the same attitude; their 
heads drooping, their eyes intently fixed upon 
the water ; and as we approached still nearer, 
we saw these heads rapidly descend one after 
the other, though not in regular succession. 
We passed them, and perceived they were peli- 
cans; some of a delicate rose color, others 
white, and the bag under their throats becom- 
ing distended. As each had taken enough, it 
slowly flew away to its nest among the lofty, 
dark trees of the virgin forest, which was close 
17 257 d 



258 FIRESIDE READING. 

behind them, and the whole scene was so solemn, 
so quiet, and so novel, that we could not speak 
till we were at a distance from them." 

The bag or pouch bears an enormous propor- 
tion to the size of the bird, and frequently holds 
seventeen pints of water ; it is supported by 
two long processes, which come from the beak, 
which is also very large ; and it is from disgorg- 
ing the contents of this bag to feed the young, 
that arises the fable of the pelican taking sus- 
tenance from her own breast, for the support of 
her offspring. "It is a pleasant sight," says 
Mr. Gosse, "to see a flock of pelicans fishing — 
at sea. A dozen or more are flying on heavy, 
flapping wing, the long neck doubled on the 
back, so that the beak seems to protrude from 
the breast. Suddenly a little ruffling of the 
water arrests their attention; and with wings 
half closed, down each plunges with a resound- 
ing plash, and in an instant emerges to the sur- 
face with a fish. The beak is held aloft, a snap 
or two is made, the huge pouch is seen for a mo- 
ment distended, then collapses as before ; and 
heavily the bird rises to wing, and again beats 
over the surface with its fellows. It is worthy 
of observation, that the pelican invariably per- 
forms a somerset under the surface; for de- 
scending, as he always does, diagonally, not per- 
pendicularly, the head emerges, looking in the 



PELICANS. 259 

opposite direction to that in which it was look- 
ing before. When the morning appetite is sated, 
they sit calmly on the heaving surface, looking 
much like a miniature fleet." 

The ensuing account of a domesticated peli- 
can is from the pen of Mr. Hill, of St. Do- 
mingo : . " The facility with which the pelican 
resigns itself to fastiDg or feasting, was very 
interestingly exhibited to me in a bird I saw the 
other day at Passage Fort. It was a pelican of 
mature age ; it flew backward and forward, visit- 
ing the wild flocks, and feeding with them in the 
harbor during the day, and withdrew from them 
to roost in its master's yard during the night. 
In that period of restraint, when it was neces- 
sary to observe the caution of drawing its quill- 
feathers to keep it within very diminished capa- 
bilities of flight, till it became familiar and do- 
mesticated, it was wholly dependent on the fish 
provided for it by the fishermen of the beach. 
Sunday was no fishing day with these men ; and 
this was, therefore, a day in which there were 
no supplies for the pelican. It became, in time, 
so conscious of the recurrence of this fast- day, 
that, although, at all other times, it went daily 
down to the seaside to wait the coming in ol' 
the canoes, on the seventh day it never stirred 
from the incumbent trunk of a tree, on which it 
roosted within the yard. It had been found 



260 FIRESIDE READING. 

necessary to pluck its wings within the last two 
or three months, to restrain it within bounds, in 
consequence of its absence latterly with the 
wild birds, for several days in succession, and in 
this state it was reduced, as formerly, to depend 
on the fishermen for food. The old habit of 
abstinence and drowsy repose on the Sundays 
again recurred, and when I saw it, it was once 
more a tranquil observer of the rest, and with 
it the fast of the Sabbath-day." 



VI. 

(PHALACROCORAX.) 

LIKE pelicans, cormorants have very small 
tongues; the middle toe is indented like a 
saw; their young are born blind, and do not 
fly till they are three weeks or a month old. 
Milton compares Satan to a cormorant ; and 
Dr. Stanley thinks the fallen angel could not 
meet with a fitter representative, as he sits on a 
rock, gorged with food, with an unearthly ap- 
pearance ; his slouching form, his wet and vapid 
wings, dangling from his sides to catch the 
breeze ; while his weird, haggard, widely-staring, 
emerald-green eyes, scowl about in all direc- 
tions. They devour an astonishing quantity of 
food, and if, in those localities where the sea is 
liable to much movement, a storm lasts for some 
days, they are to be found huddled together in 
their caves perishing with hunger. 

The appearance of cormorants, their wild and 
desolate habitations, their habits and voracity, 

would seem to distance them from man, vet 

?61 



262 FIRESIDE READING. 

there are many instances of their docility and 
affection. They even become troublesomely 
tame; and when pressed by hunger, lose all 
their gentleness. One day a gentleman's serv- 
ant went to look at a pair, which had appeared 
to be perfectly domesticated during two years. 
Unfortunately, part of the man's livery was of 
red plush, which, it is supposed, attracted the 
attention of the birds, from its resemblance to 
the raw liver and lights with which they were 
usually fed. Consequently, they made such a 
furious assault, that their owner was obliged to 
drive them off with a stick. They fight with 
bills, wings, and claws, at the same time, and 
scream frightfully. They kill poultry, and even 
dogs, when unprotected. The fable perpetu- 
ated by Mr. Waterton merits a place here: 
"The cormorant was once a wool merchant; he 
entered into partnership with the bramble and 
the bat, and they freighted a vessel with wool. 
She struck on some rocks and went to the bot- 
tom. This loss caused the firm to become bank- 
rupt. Since that disaster the bat skulks in his 
hiding-hole till twilight, in order that he may 
avoid his creditors ; the bramble seizes hold of 
every passing sheep, to make up his loss by re- 
taining part of its wool; while the cormorant is 
forever diving into the waters, in hopes of dis- 
covering where his foundered vessel lies." 



CORMORANTS. 263 

We believe that it is Mr. Fortune who thus 
describes the manner in which the Chinese use 
these birds for fishing : " Ten or twelve cormo- 
rants are put into a boat with one man, they at 
first standing perched on the sides ; they are 
then ordered out of the boat by their master, 
and they scatter themselves over the water to 
look for fish. Their quick eye soon tells them 
where to dive, and the fish once caught in their 
sharply-notched bills never escapes. They rise 
to the surface, swim to their master, and are 
pulled into the boat, where they deposit their 
prey, and then return to their labor. If one 
gets hold of a fish too large for him to take to 
the boat, his companions come to his assistance. 
If one gets lazy or playful, his master strikes 
the water near him with a long bamboo, and 
speaks angrily, when the bird returns to his 
duty. A small string is tied round the throat 
of each, to prevent it from swallowing the fish 
which it takes. They will not fish in the sum- 
mer months, but begin about October, and end 
in May." 



¥11. 

(URIA.) 

GUILLEMOTS have short wings, and the 
feathers of the head come as far as the 
nostril. They are northern birds, are said to 
be extremely stupid, and bear various local 
names. They frequent steep rocks in thou- 
sands, never make any nest, but lay their eggs 
on bare ledges, and "when the young ones are 
old enough to go to sea, the parents carry them 
on their backs ; and after sporting about in the 
water convey them back again in the same way. 
Mr. Waterton's description of taking their eggs, 
which he himself practiced, is so graphic, that we 
copy his words, with a little abridgment: "The 
usual process is carried on by three men, though 
two will suffice, in case of necessity. Having 
provided themselves with two ropes of sufficient 
length and strength, they drive an iron bar into 
the ground, about six inches deep, in the table- 
land at the top of the precipice. The thickest 

of the rope is fastened to this bar, and then 
264 



GUILLEMOTS. 265 

thrown down the rocks. He who is to descend 
now puts his legs through a pair of hempen 
braces, which meet round his middle, and there 
form a waistband. At each end of this waist- 
band is a loop-hole, through which they reeve 
the smaller rope; for which loops, hooks and 
eyes are sometimes substituted. A man holds 
the rope firmly in his hand, and gradually lowers 
his comrade down the precipice. While he is 
descending he has hold of the other rope which 
was fastened to the iron bar; and with this as- 
sistance, he passes from ledge to ledge, and 
from rock to rock, picking up the eggs of the 
guillemot, and putting them into bags, which 
are slung across his shoulder. When these are 
filled, he jerks the rope, which motion informs 
his friend that it is time to draw him up. When 
he has gained the top, the eggs are put into 
a large basket, previous to being packed in 
hampers, and carried in a cart to the whole- 
sale dealers, who purchase them at sixpence 
the score." 

As Mr. Water ton was lowered down, he says 
" that the grandeur and sublimity of the scene 
beggared all description, and amply repaid any 
little unpleasant sensations which arose on the 
score of danger. The sea was roaring at tho 
base of this stupendous wall of rocks; thou- 
sands and tens of thousands of wild fowl were 



266 FIRESIDE READING. 

in an instant on the wing. ... By no glutinous 
matter, nor any foreign body whatever were the 
eggs of the guillemots affixed to the rock ; bare 
they lay, and unattached as on the palm of your 
outstretched hand. You might see nine, ten, 
or sometimes twelve old guillemots in a line, so 
near to each other, that their wings seemed to 
touch those of their neighbors; and when they 
flew off at your approach, you might see as 
many eggs as birds." 



VIII. 

Stow, 

(CYGNUS.) 

THE whole family of ducks, of which swans 
are a portion, are distinguished by a large, 
wide beak, furnished with a row of thin, pro- 
jecting and transversal plates. Few are igno- 
rant of the majestic appearance of swans in 
water, and their awkward gait out of it; for 
they become extremely familiar, and live in 
frequented rivers, and ponds situated in cities. 
When once settled in a piece of water, they 
seem to appropriate a portion to themselves, 
and never suffer any other swans to come near. 
They are now reserved for ornamental purposes, 
except occasionally a cygnet may be killed for a 
feast; but in former times they were eaten on 
grand occasions, civic fetes, and royal entertain- 
ments. Hence, there arc many quaint receipts 
for preparing them, in which wine and strong 
herbs make a considerable figure. 

They are very fierce birds when provoked, 

and fight with great courage, their strong wingfl 

207 



268 FIRESIDE READING, 

making them formidable enemies, as they can 
at any time break a man's leg with these weap- 
ons. The black swan of Australia is smaller 
than our white swans, but is beautiful in shape, 
and has a bright red bill. 

They always fly in long lines, often at the rate 
of one hundred miles in the hour, and feed in 
shallow water. On the latter occasions, one is 
always kept on the watch for danger, he being 
relieved by another when he is obliged to feed ; 
and if any danger approach, the sentinel gives 
notice by a cry, sounding like a bugle. 

Mr. St. John says " that the wild swans are 
not as graceful as those which have been do- 
mesticated, but run faster when on land." 

Captain Brown thus describes a scene which 
took place in the Regent's Park : " A gentle- 
man who was walking there was one afternoon 
attracted by an unusual noise in the water, 
which he ascertained to arise from a furious 
attack made by two white swans on the soli- 
tary black one. The allied couple pursued the 
bird with the greatest ferocity ; and one of them 
got his neck between his bill, and shook it vio- 
lently. The poor black swan with difficulty ex- 
tricated himself from the murderous grasp, hur- 
ried on shore, tottered a few paces from the 
water's edge, and fell. His death appeared to 
be attended with great agony. He stretched 



swans. 269 

his neck into the air, and attempted to rise from 
the ground, and the struggle lasted five minutes. 
His foes never left the water in pursuit; but 
continued sailing up and down to the spot 
whereon their victim fell, with every feather on 
end, and apparently proud of their conquest." 

The same author tells us of a female swan, 
who, while sitting, observed a fox swimming 
toward her from the opposite shore. She in- 
stantly darted into the water, and having kept 
him at bay for a considerable time with her 
wings, at last succeeded in drowning him ; after 
which she returned to her nest in triumph. 

Mr. Broderip relates that twenty-nine swans 
alighted on an extensive reservoir, belonging to 
Messrs. Burton & Sons, calico printers. They 
were shot at, and one so wounded in the wing- 
that it was disabled. All the herd abandoned 
it, with the exception of one, which for hours 
flew about the spot, after the others had de- 
parted, incessantly uttering its mournful cry. 
This was on the 10th of December. The efforts 
made by Mr. Burton's men to secure the 
wounded bird, drove away her mate, and he 
was not seen again till the 23d of March, when 
he flew round the reservoir in lofty circles, and, 
descending to the female, took his station by 
her side. He soon became familiar with those 
around them; even more so than the other. 



270 FIRESIDE KEADINGr. 

The pair seemed to be strongly attached to each 
other, and so completely reconciled to their sit- 
uation, that it was hoped a brood of their young 
might be reared; but some strange dogs came 
to the reservoir and frightened them; the male 
then took flight, and did not return, and in Sep- 
tember, the female, who was quite restored, 
quitted the spot, and was not seen again. 

Lord Baybrooke supplied the following anec- 
dote to Mr. Yarrell, the scene of which was at 
Bishop's Stortford. A female swan had seen 
some eighteen summers, had reared many 
broods, and was become familiar to the neigh- 
bors, who valued her highly. Once, while she 
was sitting on four or five eggs, she was seen to 
be very busy, collecting weeds, grasses, and other 
materials to raise her nest. A farming man was 
ordered to take down half a load of haulm, with 
which she most industriously elevated her nest 
and eggs two feet and a half. That very night 
there came down a tremendous fall of rain, 
which flooded all the malt-kilns, and did great 
damage. Man made no preparation, the bird 
did. Her eggs were above, and only just above 
the water. 



IX. 

(ansee.) 

THE goose, though not as handsome as the 
swan, is by no means an ugly bird ; and 
although it has a waddling gait, it is far less 
awkward than the swan in its movements. 
Geese are generally reckoned foolish birds, 
which is a libel, for they are very sagacious, 
and capable of great attachment. We have 
read, but do not now recollect where, of a goose 
which attached itself to its master, who was a 
farmer, watched for him, and when he left his 
house, accompanied him in all his rambles. 
One day he was taken ill, and was for some 
time confined to his bed ; the bird, by some 
means, knew the room in which he was, and sat 
on the grass looking up at the window of it, in 
the most disconsolate manner, and when he 
showed himself, its joy was excessive. It went 
with him to the market-town, at some distance, 
keeping up with him by running and flying, and 
was never happy but in his presence. At last 

271 



272 FIRESIDE READING. • 

this excess of affection became troublesome ; 
the farmer was bantered about the strange 
alliance, and, in a moment of ill-humor, he 
ordered the poor goose to be killed, It is not 
surprising that he should never think again 
of his feathered follower, without sharp feelings 
of remorse, which he richly deserved to feel. 

A very curious presentiment of approaching 
death is related by a Mr. Brew, of Ennis, who 
says : " An old goose that had been sitting on 
her eggs for a fortnight, in a farmer's kitchen, 
was perceived on a sudden to be taken violently 
ill. She soon after left the riest, and repaired 
to an outhouse, where there was a young goose 
of the first year, which she brought with her 
into the kitchen. The young one immediately 
scrambled into the old one's nest, sat, hatched, 
and afterward brought up the brood. The old 
goose, as soon as the young one had taken her 
place, sat down by the nest, and shortly after 
died. As the young goose had never been in 
the habit of entering the kitchen before, I 
know of no way of accounting for this fact, 
than by supposing that the old one had some 
way of communicating her thoughts and anxie- 
ties, which the other was perfectly able to 
understand." 

The warlike goose of Paisley was so called 
from its love of soldiers, and by its walking like 



GEESE. 273 

a sentinel backward and forward before the jail. 
It had arrived at Paisley when the river Cart 
had overflowed, no one knew from whence, 
and was secured in order to be eaten ; but it 
was so old, that it was thought useless to dress 
it: its life, therefore, was spared, and it was 
lodged in the stable-yard of the Saracen's Head 
Inn, passing from one tenant to another, as a 
fixture upon the premises. It was irresistibly 
attracted by a red coat and musket, and listened 
eagerly to the roll of the drum, or the call of 
the bugle ; it paced up and down with the sen- 
tinel, stopped when he stopped, and faced when 
he faced, continuing night and day, without 
being seen to sleep, as long as a military force 
was placed over the jail, and then continuing by 
itself for a considerable time after it was with- 
drawn. It then attached itself to every sergeant 
or corporal that came into town, or a recruiting 
party ; wherever a knot of soldiers was to be 
seen, there was the goose, apparently listening 
to their conversation. It had other friends to 
whom it paid visits, and when soldiers were 
billeted, with a strange intelligence, it waddled 
to the door of the Chamberlain's office, walked 
to and fro, and attached itself to horse and 
foot, regulars and volunteers ; and whoever 
wore a military uniform, received its attention, 
following them like their shadow. It also se- 
18 i> 



274 FIRESIDE READING. 

lected for friends some of the subordinate offi- 
cers of justice, preferring those who were con- 
spicuous for size. The last year of its life it 
became nearly blind; and knotty excrescences 
upon its legs, with broken toes, rendered it 
lame ; but it continued its peculiar habit to the 
last, and died, with a slight flutter of its wings, 
in its own stable-yard. It was regretted by the 
whole town; and its age was computed to be 
nearly a hundred years. 



X. 

(anas.) 

THERE is no part of the world in which 
these birds are not to be found ; each species 
having those habits which best adapt it to the 
country in which it dwells. Some of them have 
very exquisite plumage, the colors of which are 
varied shades of blue, green, and brown, mixed 
with white, and the males are more beautiful 
than the females. They chiefly lay their eggs 
upon rocks, but some few roost in trees. They 
are easily tamed, and Mr. St. John thus speaks 
of some sheldrakes, which were domesticated on 
his premises. When they asked for food, they 
patted the ground with their feet in an impa- 
tient and rapid manner, as they do when wild, 
to make the worms come out of the earth ; they 
were very bold and fearless, ate any thing, and 
fed from the hand. They were extremely pug- 
nacious, and became masters of the poultry- 
yard. 

Wild sheldrakes lav their e<r*rs in old rabbit 



276 FIRESIDE READING. 

holes, several feet under ground. The male 
bird stands and struts on some hillock till low 
water, when the female leaves her eggs for a 
little while, and after flirting together for a short 
time, they fly away to the sea-shore for food. 
On returning, the female flies round the hole 
several times, to see that nothing is amiss. 
They both have a quick, smart step, much less 
waddling than that of other ducks. 

The soft plumage on the breast of the Eider 
duck, is too well known to need description 
here. It is chiefly collected in Iceland. 

An interesting proof of the affection which 
ducks show toward each other, is given by Dr. 
Stanley. "A pair of Muscovy ducks were 
landed at Holyhead from a Liverpool vessel, re- 
turning from the coast of Africa. The male 
was conveyed to a gentleman's house, and put 
with other ducks, toward whom he evinced the 
utmost indifference : he evidently pined for the 
loss of his mate ; but she was brought after a 
time, and let loose ; he did not at first see her, 
but when, on turning his head, he caught a 
glimpse of her, he rushed toward her with a 
joy which was quite affecting. Nothing after 
that would induce him to quit her, he laid his 
beak upon hers, nestled his head under her 
wing, and often gazed at her with the greatest 
delight." 



BIRD-VENTRILOQUISM. 277 

The Chinese, who are the most skillful mana- 
gers of poultry in the world, pay peculiar atten- 
tion to ducks, and often hatch them in ovens. 

We can not close this part of our work with- 
out mentioning a remarkable faculty possessed 
by some birds, to which our attention was first 
drawn by the following passage, in a number of 
that excellent periodical, " Chambers's Edin 
burgh Journal." On listening to the notes of 
some songsters in a tree, with tolerably thick 
foliage, the sound seems to come, sometimes 
from tne summit of the extreme branch on the 
right, sometimes from the midst of that on the 
left; now from the highest twigs, and again 
from the central shade, all the while that the 
bird has not shifted its original position. In 
illustration of this, the following anecdotes are 
recorded by a contributor to Newman's Monthly 
Magazine of Natural History. " While walk- 
ing one day along the banks of the Tweed, and 
while resting in the shade, I was attracted by 
the note of a magpie, just above my head. I 
wondered that the wary bird had suffered me to 
approach so near it, and very noiselessly. I 
tried to discover the distance of my chattering 
neighbor. The voice danced about like a will- 
o'-the-wisp, 'twas now here; now there: one 
moment on the top of a fir; the next in the 



278 FIRESIDE READING. 

thick of an elm ! I strained my eyes, and got 
a crick in the neck, but never a glimpse of him 
of the lustrous green, black, and white. I be- 
lieve I spent ten minutes in vainly seeking to 
detect him, and I determined at last to ascer- 
tain whether or not it was a magpie, that had 
undergone metamorphosis, and a bird was now 
a vox et prceterea nihil. I threw a stone, not at 
the place whence the sound seemed last to issue, 
but at one of them ; my mysterious friend took 
the hint, he disclosed himself, and departed. 

" On another occasion, about the same time, 
I was walking along a road, on the left of which 
was a wheat-field, and at the bottom of the field 
a pond, which I knew to be tenanted by divers 
moor-hens. About fifty yards above the gate, 
out of the road into the fields, and three hun- 
dred yards from the pond, I heard the note or 
cry of the moor-hen; I was convinced the bird 
was within twenty or thirty yards of me, or 
rather, it never entered my mind that it was 
not. I therefore went quietly and cautiously to 
the gate, and thought I should most likely be 
able to see the bird, supposing it was likely to 
be moving toward the pond. On reaching the 
gate, the sound seemed to come from a point 
twenty yards lower down the field. I waited 
some minutes; still it came from this same 
point. I moved on ; it kept apparently at about 



BIRD-VENTRILOQUISM. 279 

the same distance before me; when I stopped, 
it stopped too; I mean it seemed to come dur- 
ing each halt from one and the same spot, 
about twenty yards in advance of me. When, 
at length, I got to the pond, there was the bird 
moving about at its leisure, croaking away in 
the same measured manner, as it had been do- 
ing for the last twenty minutes, and not appear- 
ing at all conscious that its unmusical note had 
any thing in it capable of interesting even a 
wandering naturalist. The bird was at the 
pond unquestionably, when I first heard it; 
and I suppose had never moved ten yards 
from it all the while I had been listening and 
watching ; and yet at first, as at every suc- 
cessive period, I could have sworn that it was 
within thirty yards of me. Now, I have no 
theory to offer on this matter. I state the 
simple facts; and I dare say, a hundred other 
observers can confirm them, if they do not think 
the task too trifling. I think that birds can 
produce some such effects at will; but I also 
suspect that some of these may be, or must be, 
accounted for on other grounds than the mere 
volition of the bird that produces them. We 
could add many similar experiences ; and believe 
that certain birds do possess such a power, 
which they occasionally use for the purpose of 
misleading their enemies, though in many in- 



280 FIRESIDE READING. 

stances they appear to indulge in it for mere 
amusement. On the other hand, it must be 
borne in mind, that our senses, and especially 
that of hearing, are liable to innumerable de- 
ceptions, caused by echoes, obstructions to the 
direct progress of the sound; and, above all, 
from the fact, that the ear requires a certain 
amount of experimenting before it can decide 
exactly as to the position from which any new 
or unfamiliar sounds may proceed." (From Mr. 
R. Q. Couch's paper in the Zoologist, as quoted 
in " Chambers's Edinburgh Journal.") 

Mr. Broderip calls the grasshopper warbler — 
sylvia locustella — "that extraordinary ventril- 
oquist," whose whisper, according to White, 
seems to be close by, though at a hundred 
yards distance; and when close at your ear, is 
scarcely any louder than when a great way off. 
And, to end the examples which have come be- 
fore us, is the curious sound uttered by the 
male pinnated grouse of North America, which 
amounts to a species of ventriloquism. At the 
time of sending forth this cry, the region of 
the throat of the bird is sensibly inflated and 
swelled. On a still morning it may be heard 
for three or four miles ; some say even five or 
six ; and when it is close to the hearer, appears 
to be a mile or two distant. 



PART II. 

Craifs anfr %uthtt& of Jfisjjes 



NEARLY destitute of affection, almost de- 
prived of the power of uttering a sound, 
scarcely knowing even a relative duty toward 
each other; their chief object that of eating; 
it would at first sight seem very difficult to find 
any anecdotes concerning fishes, which may be 
calculated for a work like the present. The ex- 
ceptions, however, to the above facts, are so ex- 
traordinary to us; our great Creator has pro- 
vided so many curious contrivances for their 
preservation ; he has made some of them so val- 
uable to man ; he has endowed so large a por- 
tion with extreme beauty ; he has caused others 
to be so singular ; others again so terrible ; and 
he has ordered some so to step from their gen- 
eral character, so to surpass our finite compre- 
hension, so to cheat us of our ideas of fixed 
laws, that we flatter ourself this portion of our 
work will afford the same interest to the general 
reader as that which preceded. 

The first attribute in fishes which strikes t ho 

beholder, is the extreme fitness of their iorma- 

283 



284 FIRESIDE READING. 

tion for the element in which they are destined 
to live. It is such as to offer the least possi- 
ble resistance to the liquid through which they 
swim, and their greatest muscular force resides 
in the tail, which directs all their principal 
movements. Their members are short; pliant 
cartilage supports the membranes of which they 
are formed, and they can contract and dilate 
them at pleasure. Their covering is smooth and 
scaly, so that the water glides from it with great 
rapidity. To prevent the too great action of 
that water upon them, a row of pores on each 
of the sides, called the lateral line, and fre- 
quently some in the head, supply a mucous se- 
cretion, which is constantly exuding. Some 
fishes require to come occasionally to the sur- 
face; but, in general, the air — oxygen — which 
they breathe is almost entirely conveyed through 
the medium of water, and instead of lungs, 
they are furnished with fringes, or a number of 
closely-set plates, supported by arches of bone, 
into which the blood flows, and there receive 
its necessary quantity of refreshment from the 
water which rushes in at the mouth. This 
yields so modified a quantity that they can not 
be any thing but cold-blooded animals. In most 
fishes these gills are protected by one or two 
covers, or lids, which open to let out the water. 
We will not dilate on the exceptions to this last 



FISHES. 285 

apparatus, but merely pause to remark, that it 
is an error to suppose the duration of a fish's 
life out of water depends upon the size of these 
openings. 

The few sounds which proceed from fishes are 
not to be ascribed to a voice, and little is known 
of the manner in which they are produced. 
Some refer them to a certain organ called the 
swimming or air-bladder ; a vessel for contain- 
ing air, which lies under their back-bone when 
present, but of which many fishes are totally 
destitute, even though they occasionally send 
forth sounds. The irregular existence of the 
swimming bladder also refutes the assertion, 
that it helps its possessor to rise and sink in its 
native element. 

The ears are but little developed, and are so 
shut up within the skull, that it has been often 
doubted whether they hear at all; fishes, how- 
ever, do possess this faculty in a modified de- 
gree. Their eyes have no lids, are nearly 
fixed, and their size varies according to the 
quantity of light which they require; those 
living in deep waters having, in general, the 
largest. Their tongue and palate are often 
covered with prickles, teeth, or bony plates; 
so that they can not possess a delicate taste. 
Their small nostrils are never saluted by t ho 

fresh perfumes of the fields and the forest, and 



286 FIRESIDE READING. 

their power of smell is accordingly limited. 
Their touch, covered as they are with scales, 
chiefly resides in their lips, to which small bar- 
hules are often attached to increase this faculty, 
but much more often their lips are as scaly as 
their sides. Their proportion of brain is small, 
and thus they may be looked upon as a race of 
beings, in whom the highly-sensitive functions 
are but feebly developed. We will, however, 
now try, in some measure, to redeem them from 
the low place to which they may have been con- 
demned by this description. 

They are divided by naturalists into three 
groups, which are subdivided; but setting this 
arrangement aside, we shall consider only those 
which are most useful, dangerous, or interesting 
to man. 



I. 

% to. 

(gadus.) 

FOREMOST in importance and value is the 
cod, which is fished for on the coasts of Ice- 
land, Newfoundland, eastern North America, 
Ireland, Great Britain, and the Baltic, and is 
found as far south as Gibraltar on the coast 
of Europe, and Nantucket on the coast of 
America. It is a source of profit and employ- 
ment to many thousands; and it must not be 
forgotten that in these fisheries of stormy seas, 
the best and hardiest sailors have been trained. 
The flesh of cod is white, and is easily divided 
into flakes; it is also very nutritious, and is 
salted, dried, and sent all over the world. 

The bait adopted for catching cod — for the 
hook and line are always used — consists of 
pieces of fish, sea-fowl, mollusks, etc., and their 
voracity renders them an easy prey at a depth 
of from twenty to fifty fathoms. They grow to 
a great size. The largest that ever was soon 
was taken at Scarboro, England, in 1775. It 

287 



288 FIRESIDE READING. 

weighed seventy-eight pounds, and was five feet 
eight inches long. This animal's chief place 
of resort is on the banks of Newfoundland, and 
the other sand-banks that lie off Cape Breton. 
That extensive flat seems to be no other than 
the broad top of a sea-mountain, extending for 
above five hundred miles long, and surrounded 
with a deeper sea. Hither the cod annually 
repair in numbers, beyond the power of calcula- 
tion, to feed on the quantity of worms that are 
to be found there in the sandy bottom. Here 
they are taken in such quantities, that they sup- 
ply Europe and America with a considerable 
share of provision. The English have stages 
erected all along the shore for salting and dry- 
ing them ; and the fishermen, who take them 
with the hook and line, which is their method, 
draw them in as fast as they can throw out. 
An expert hand will sometimes capture four 
hundred in a day. This immense capture, how- 
ever, makes but a very small diminution, when 
compared to their numbers ; and when their 
provision there is exhausted, or the season for 
propagation returns, they go off to the polar 
seas, where they deposit their spawn. Previous 
to the discovery of Newfoundland, the principal 
fisheries for cod were in the Iceland seas, and 
off the western isles of Scotland. 

They are easily preserved alive in ponds 



THE COD. 289 

which communicate with the sea, where they 
learn to know those who feed them ; and no 
sooner do their friends appear than numerous 
mouths are thrust forth, and open to receive 
the daily supply. Five hundred and fifty cod- 
fish have been taken in eleven hours by one 
man, and the spawn of one of these alone will 
contain nine millions of eggs. Their weight 
has occasionally amoimted individually from 
sixty to seventy-eight pounds ; their color is a 
dull, olive green, fading to white underneath, 
and they are coarse-looking fishes. 

19 *" d 



II. 

(gadus ^eglefinus.) 

THE haddock frequents our shores, and those 
of England and Ireland, in immense shoals, 
and goes into more northern and southern lo- 
calities, but not into the Mediterranean, and is 
also caught with lines. Haddocks become very 
tame and gentle in the ponds where they are 
preserved. They have a dark spot on each 
shoulder, and these are often united to each 
other by a dark line, which some naturalists 
think obtained for them the name of asinus — 
ass — among the ancients ; it being analogous to 
the stripe on the withers of that animal. 
There is, however, another history attached 
to the haddock, as well as to other fishes with 
one dark spot on each side, whether it come 
from the scene of the miracle or not. It is said 
to be the fish which St. Peter caught to supply 
the tribute-money, and that these spots were 
forever continued, in memory of the marks pro- 
duced by his thumb and finger. 

afo 



III. 

% Jitltt. 

(gadus merlucius.) 

THE hake is one of the northern fishes of 
the cod family. It follows the schools of 
small fish, and devours them by wholesale, sev- 
enteen having been found in the stomach of one 
of the usual size. Their digestion is very 
rapid; but they eject their food if likely to 
impede their progress in the attempt to escape. 
They are so abundant on the coasts of Ireland, 
that a thousand have been taken in one nisrht 
by six men, who were line-fishing. The specific 
name means sea-pike, which they received in 
consequence of their voracity. The cod, the 
haddock, and the hake arc caught and cured in 
large quantities by the fishermen along our 
north-eastern coast, their fisheries extending 
north as far as Newfoundland. In the Medi- 
terranean they arc packed for transport with 

aromatic plants. 

291 



IV. 

%\t Sfodutti. 

THE beautiful mackerel, with their irridescent 
sides, their elegant shape, their rich, dark- 
green and blue-marked backs, and their great 
numbers, are well known. They were for a long 
time supposed to migrate; but closer and more 
continued observations have proved that they live 
in deep waters the greater part of the year, and 
are only visible to us when they come into the 
shallows to deposit their spawn. A confirma- 
tion of this is offered by stray individuals being 
caught on our coasts at all times of the year. 
They differ in size and quality, and in some 
countries are but little esteemed. They reach 
their greatest perfection along our north-eastern 
coast, and also in the English Channel and the 
Black Sea. 

The mackerel is one of the most voracious 
of all fishes ; and when they get among a shoal 
of herrings, they make such havoc as frequently 
to drive it off the coast. Pontoppidan informs 
us that a sailor, belonging to a ship lying in a 



THE MACKEREL. 293 

harbor of Norway, went into the water to wash 
himself, when he was suddenly missed by his 
companions. In the course of a few minutes, 
however, he was seen on the surface with vast 
numbers of mackerels fastened to him. The 
people went to his assistance in a boat, and tore 
the fishes from him ; but it was too late ; for he 
very shortly afterward expired from the effects 
of the wounds he had received, and from the 
loss of blood. 

That famous sauce of ancient epicures, called 
garum, was chiefly made from the blood and 
intestines of the mackerel, and is supposed to 
have been invented by the Greeks. Several re- 
ceipts for it are still preserved, all of which 
have putrid fish as a foundation. The odor of 
it must have been insupportable ; but this was 
no obstacle to its consumption. 



V. 

%\t farting. 

THE meaning of the German word heer, is 
army, and from it comes our word herring, 
well applied to the vast multitudes of fishes 
which go by that name, and are periodically 
caught by millions on our coasts. They are 
long and sharp in form, and the opening of 
their gills is very large. The idea that fishes 
so formed must die soon, has probably given 
rise to the supposition that they die as they are 
dragged into the fishing boat, but there are 
many proofs that this is an exaggeration ; they 
have been known to live two or three hours after 
leaving the water, and when they die in the net, 
they are generally suffocated by numbers. They 
give a faint squeak sometimes before they ex- 
pire ; but how this is produced it is not known. 
They feed on small Crustacea, the spawn of 
other fishes, and various aquatic animals, and 
not upon mud and water, as many have be- 
lieved. They even have maladies which arise 
294 



THE HERRING. 295 

from unwholesome food. They are chiefly the 
inhabitants of northern oceans, and are largest 
in those nearest the pole, contrary to the usual 
laws. 

The wonderful fertility of herrings is almost 
marvelous ; each female will lay from 21,000 to 
36,000 eggs. Block says 68,000. They ad- 
vance in columns five and six miles long, nay, 
several leagues, and three or four wide, and 
nothing can be more beautiful than their ap- 
pearance in a calm moonlight night, for the sea 
then appears to be filled with precious stones, 
and their own phosphorescence mingled with 
that of the sea, gives an appearance of brilliant 
flames. They delight in lifting their heads 
above the water, as if to enjoy the air, which 
action makes a noise like the dropping of rain, 
and covers the sea with bubbles. They occa- 
sionally leap out of the water. 

Herrings are very capricious, rarely fre- 
quenting the same haunt for any length of time, 
and it is amusing to glance over the reasons as- 
signed for their disappearance. The manufac- 
tory of kelp has been one alleged cause, and 
the firing of guns another, and from this arose 
the prohibition against discharging those weap- 
ons during the fishery. The ancient High- 
landers declared they would not stay uhere 
blood had been shed; and the Danes assert. 



296 FIRESIDE READING. 

that the j were driven from their part of the 
Baltic, by the battle of Copenhagen. Steam- 
boats are now the fashionable enemies; and the 
best of all is, that a clergyman, on the coast of 
Ireland, having publicly declared his intention 
of taking his tithe in herrings, this so affronted 
these fishes, that they left that shore forever. 
We presume that one word will explain all these 
phenomena, and that is, food. 

The real enemies of herrings, after man, are 
first, the large cetaceous animals, one of which 
is even named the herring whale in Iceland, on 
account of its eager pursuit of them. They 
try to escape from it by getting into creeks 
which are too small for it to enter, and thus 
become more easy prey to man. Then come 
seals, and after them sharks, which pursue them 
with great eagerness. Many fishes enter the 
lists against them, such as cod, salmon, chim- 
seres, sturgeon, etc. Sea-fowls are so absorbed 
by their assaults upon them, that fishermen can 
secure these birds with their hands at that time. 

About fifty years ago, the shoals of herrings 
came into Loch Urn, Scotland, in such amazing 
quantities that, from the narrows to the head, 
about two miles, it was quite full. So many 
of them were forced ashore by the pressure, 
that the beach, for four miles round the head, 
was covered with them from six to eighteen 



THE HERRING. 297 

inches deep ; and the ground under water, as 
far as could be seen, was in the same condition. 
Indeed, so dense and forcible was the shoal, as 
to carry before it every other kind of fish; 
even ground-fish, skate, flounders, and plaice, 
were driven on shore with the force of the her- 
rings, and perished there. 

The history of this important fishery would 
be an abridgment of those of France, Holland, 
England, and the United States, so many 
treaties have been made and broken on all sides 
between these countries, concerning herrings ; 
and if it were possible to get at private annals, 
many histories of daring courage and sad de- 
struction might be gleaned from those engaged 
in its pursuit in time of war. The mode of salt- 
ing, drying, and extracting oil from these finny 
multitudes, as pursued in all countries where they 
are found, are the same as those practiced for 
other fishes, but there is scarcely any inhabitant 
of the sea which forms so universal and im- 
portant an item of food as the herring, for no 
ship's provision is complete without them. 



VI. 

WHICH was known to the Romans, but not 
to the Greeks, is distinguished from other 
fish by having two dorsal fins, of which the 
hindermost is fleshy and without rays; they 
have teeth both in the jaws and the tongue, 
and the body is covered with round and mi- 
nutely-striated scales. Gray is the color of the 
back and sides, sometimes spotted with black, 
and sometimes plain. The belly is silvery. It 
is entirely a northern fish, being found both 
at Greenland, Kamtschatka, and the northern 
parts of North America. About the latter end 
of the year the salmon begin to press up the 
rivers, even for hundreds of miles, to deposit 
their spawn, which lies buried in the sand till 
spring, if not disturbed by the floods, or de- 
voured by other fishes. In this peregrination 
it is not to be stopped even by cataracts. 
About March the young ones begin to appear, 
and about the beginning of May the river is 

full of the salmon fry, which are then four or 
298 



THE SALMON. 299 

five inches long, and gradually proceed to the 
sea. About the middle of June the earliest fry 
begin to return again from the sea, and are then 
from twelve to fourteen inches long. The growth 
of this fish is so extraordinary, that a young 
salmon being taken at Warrington, and which 
weighed seven pounds on the 7th of February, 
being marked with a scissors on the back fin, 
was again taken on the 17th of March follow- 
ing, and was then found to weigh seventeen 
pounds and a half. 

Rapid and stony rivers, where the water is 
free from mud, are the favorite places of most 
of the salmon tribe, the whole of which is sup- 
posed to afford wholesome food to mankind. 
The chief English rivers in which salmon are 
caught are the Thames, the Severn, the Trent, 
and the Tyne. The Scotch fisheries are very 
productive. These fish when taken out of their 
natural element very soon die ; to preserve their 
flavor they must be killed as soon as they are 
taken out of the water. The fishermen usu- 
ally pierce them near the tail with a knife, 
when they soon die with loss of blood. 

Denizens of both salt and fresh water, chang- 
ing in their appearance at various periods of 
their growth, much discussion lias taken place 
as to which of this numerous family may, or 
may not, be exclusively salmon. The differ- 



300 FIRESIDE READING. 

ences of age have been declared differences of 
species, till they have been multiplied to an un- 
reasonable extent, and even yet, notwithstand- 
ing the investigations and experiments of clever, 
patient men, the question is not satisfactorily 
settled. 

Salmon ascend rivers in order to deposit their 
spawn, but when they go back to the sea no one 
knows. They are occasionally taken on the sea- 
coast after very stormy weather; and it is the 
opinion of naturalists that they retire into the 
deep holes which are hollowed out of the shore. 
The leaps which they take when obliged to pass 
over waterfalls show immense strength and vigor ; 
they bring head and tail nearly together, and 
their action may be understood if we bend a 
thin plate of steel till the ends nearly meet, 
and then suddenly let it go. 

In Sweden, if the rivers freeze early, the 
salmon remain in them all winter, under the ice. 
It is some time, however, after spawning, before 
they are good to eat. They grow very fast, are 
voracious devourers of small fishes ; and, to give 
an idea of their numbers, in small rivers seven 
hundred have been taken at one haul of the 
net, and at Berghem, and in the whole of Nor- 
way, where the salmon fishery is carried on with 
the most vigor 9m two thousand have been caught 
in one day. The British Islands, the northern 



THE SALMON. 301 

and middle countries of Europe, Asia, and 
America, and the Caspian Sea, yield these 
noble fishes in great numbers, and they are also 
caught with nets, the line, or by spearing; dogs 
also are often trained to afford valuable assist- 
ance. Mr. Yarrell says that when the common 
tern, or sea swallow, ascends the Thames, fish- 
ermen look out for the rare and valuable prize 
of a salmon in that river, on which account this 
bird has been named by them the salmon-bird. 

The right of fishing in many of the Scotch 
rivers, Mr. St. John tells us, is vested in a very 
singular manner, and some proprietors are 
obliged to pay a rent for fishing on their own 
ground. A certain laird possessed a small 
island in a river of Sutherlandshire. He 
grudged his neighbor the profits which he en- 
joyed from a good fishery lower down than his 
own, and commenced building a fort on the 
island. Accidentally meeting his neighbor, he 
asked him to allow of his fishing, and so feeding 
his workmen and retainers, up and down the 
whole river, till the building was finished. Per- 
mission was given, and a legal document signed 
to that effect. Of course, the fort was never 
finished, and the right still continues vested in 
the family. 

Seals and gulls are great enemies to the 
salmon, the former attacking the full-grown 



302 FIRESIDE READING. 

fish ; the latter particularly directing its attacks 
toward the fry, as it descends the river. They 
all swim very swiftly, sometimes at the rate of 
twenty-six feet in a second, and from twenty to 
twenty-five miles in the hour. If alarmed, it is 
scarcely possible to follow them with the eye, 
their rapidity is so great, and the hight of their 
leaps is from ten to sixteen feet. They gener- 
ally return to the same places to deposit their 
spawn, a fact which has been ascertained by 
marking the fishes. Their weight has been 
proved to amount occasionally to eighty-three 
pounds; they make a furrow with their noses 
in the gravel, deposit their eggs in it, and cover- 
ing them up, leave them to their fate. 



VII. 

% Pk 

ALL writers who treat of this species bring 
instances of its vast voraciousness. We 
have known one that was choked by attempting 
to swallow one of its own species that proved 
too large a morsel. Yet its jaws are very 
loosely connected, and have on each side an 
additional bone like the jaw of a viper, which 
renders them capable of great distention when 
it swallows its prey. It does not confine itself 
to feed on fish and frogs; it will devour the 
water-rat, and draw down the young ducks as 
they are swimming about. 

At the Marquis of Stafford's canal at Trent- 
ham, England, a pike seized the head of a 
swan, as she was feeding under water, and 
gorged so much of it as killed them both. 
The servants perceiving the swan with its head 
under water for a longer time than usual, took 
the boat, and found both swan and pike dead. 

But there arc instances of its fierceness still 
more surprising, and which, indeed, border a 

303 



304 FIRESIDE READING. 

little on the marvelous. Gesner relates that a 
famished pike in the Rhone seized on the lips 
of a mule, that was brought to water, and that 
the beast drew the fish out before it could disen- 
gage itself; that people have been bit by these 
voracious creatures while they were washing 
their legs ; and that they will even contend 
with the otter for its prey, and endeavor to 
force it out of its mouth. 

Small fish show the same uneasiness and de- 
testation at the presence of this tyrant, as the 
little birds do at the sight of the hawk or owl. 
When the pike lies dormant near the surface, 
as is frequently the case, the lesser fish are 
often observed to swim a,round it in vast num- 
bers, and in great anxiety. 

The rapacity of this fish is notorious. Jesse 
says, " Out of eight hundred gudgeons, which 
were brought to me by a Thames fisherman, and 
which I saw counted into the reservoir — some 
few of which, however, died — there were scarcely 
any to be seen at the end of three weeks. In- 
deed, the appetite of one of my pike was almost 
insatiable. One morning I threw to him, one 
after the other, five roach, each about four 
inches in length. He swallowed four of them, 
and kept the fifth in his mouth for about a 
quarter of an hour, when it also disappeared." 

The pike is an animal of extraordinary bold- 



THE PIKE. 305 

ness. A few years ago the head keeper of 
Richmond Park was washing his hands at the 
side of a boat, in the great pond, when a pike 
made a dart at one of his hands, which the 
keeper suddenly withdrew, otherwise he would 
have received a severe snap. 

Mr. Jesse says, " Eish appear to be capable 
of entertaining affection for each other. I once 
caught a female pike during the spawning sea- 
son, and nothing could drive the male away 
from the spot at which the female disappeared, 
whom he had followed to the very edge of the 
water. A person who had kept two small fish 
together in a glass, gave one of them away ; 
the other refused to eat, and showed evident 
symptoms of unhappiness, till his companion 
was restored to him." 

In the year 1497 a pike was caught, in stand- 
ing water, at Heilbronn, on the Neckar, which 
had a copper ring round its head, bearing the 
following inscription in Greek: "I am the first 
fish that was launched in this pond, and was 
thrown in by Frederick the Second, Emperor 
of the Romans, on the 5th of October, 12o0." 
It appeared, therefore, that the pike was two 
hundred and sixty-seven years old when thus 
caught; it weighed three hundred and fifty 
pounds, and an exact representation of it exists 
to this day upon one of the i^ates of Heilbronn. 
20 p 



306 FIRESIDE READINGS 

The waters of the Lake of Cirknitz, in Car- 
niola, in the early part of July, disappear 
through subterranean passages, and then an 
abundance of fishes is procured. As soon as 
the water begins to diminish, a bell is rung, and 
the neighboring inhabitants rush to the lake, 
with nets fastened to long poles. The eight 
outlets of the lake belong to proprietors, who 
sell the right of fishing there, paying according 
to the number of times that they throw their 
nets. When these have finished, the mud is 
abandoned to a general search ; some even ven- 
ture down the outlets, but are soon obliged to 
retire, on account of the number of leeches that 
fasten upon their legs. It is in this mud that 
pike are found which weigh forty pounds. They 
are useful in large ponds, because they prevent 
the excessive multiplication of smaller fishes, 
but are too destructive for small pieces of water. 
They are subject to a peculiar malady, which 
fishermen call the small-pox. They, more than 
most fishes, show signs of intelligence : and, in 
support of this, we now copy an anecdote which, 
authenticated as it is, seems to give us a new 
idea respecting fishes, and to cause a regret 
that the element in which they live makes it 
difficult to know them more intimately: 

"At a meeting of the Literary and Philo- 
sophical Society of Liverpool, February, 1850, 



THE PIKE. 307 

Dr. Warwick communicated a remarkable anec- 
dote of a pike. When residing at Durham, the 
seat of the Earl of Stamford and Warrington, 
he was walking one evening in the park, and 
came to a pond, where fish intended for the 
table were temporarily kept. He took partic- 
ular notice of a fine pike, of about six pounds 
weight, which, when it observed him, darted 
hastily away. In so doing it thrust its head 
against a tenter-hook in a post; and, as it 
afterward appeared, fractured its skull, and 
turned the optic nerve on one side. The agony 
evinced by the animal appeared very great ; it 
rushed to the bottom, and boring its head into 
the mud, whirled itself around with such veloc- 
ity, that it was almost lost to the sight for a 
short interval. It then plunged about the pond, 
and at length threw itself completely out of the 
water on the bank. The Doctor examined it, 
and found that a very small portion of the brain 
was protruding from the fracture in the skull ; 
he carefully replaced it, and, with a small silver 
tooth-pick, raised the indented portion of the 
skull. The fish remained still for a short time, 
and he then put it into the pond again. It ap- 
peared, at first, a good deal relieved; but in a 
few minutes it again darted and plunged about 
till it threw itself out of the water a second 
time. A second time did Dr. Warwick do an hat 



308 FIRESIDE READING. 

lie could to relieve it, and again put it into the 
water. It continued for several times to throw 
itself out of the water, and at length, with the 
assistance of the keeper, the Doctor contrived a 
bandage for the fish, which was then left in the 
pond to its fate. Upon making his appearance 
at the pond the following morning, the pike 
came toward him, close to the edge, and actu- 
ally laid its head upon his foot. He thought 
this very extraordinary; but he examined the 
fish's skull, and found it going on well. He 
then walked backward and forward along the 
brink of the pond for some time, and the fish 
continued to swim up and down, turning when 
he turned; but being blind on the wounded side 
it always appeared agitated when it had that 
side toward the bank. 

" The next day Dr. Warwick took some young 
friends to see the fish, which came to him as 
usual, and at length it grew so docile, that it 
came to him when he whistled, and fed out of 
his hand, while with others it continued as shy 
as usual." 



Till. 

%\t gdBut 

THE halibut is by much the largest fish of the 
genus, weighing commonly from one hun- 
dred to three hundred pounds. The halibut is 
the most voracious of fishes, and has been 
known to swallow even the lead which seamen 
make use of for sounding the depth. Its back 
is a dusky color, its belly pure white. The flesh 
is very coarse and indifferent food. It is the 
narrowest fish, in proportion to its length, of 
any of this genus, except the sole. 

309 



IX. 

% till 

THE common eel is a very singular fish in 
several things that relate to its natural his- 
tory, and in some respects borders on the na- 
ture of the reptile tribe. A long, serpentine 
form, a thick, soft, slimy skin, the scales on 
which are scarcely to be perceived, and very 
small gill-covers, are characteristics presented 
by eels. Their flesh is extremely nutritious; 
and they are plentiful in most parts of the 
world, living in lakes, rivers, and ponds, and 
are dressed in various ways. Countless num- 
bers migrate to the sea in the autumn, and 
return in the spring, though some are of opin- 
ion that they are not the same fishes ; they can 
not endure cold, and consequently are not found 
in far northern countries. Many remain in the 
rivers all the winter through, imbedded in the 
mud, when they are taken by spearing, almost 
in a torpid state. They are most irritable ani- 
mals, and become extremely restless before and 

during thunder-storms; yet they are very tena- 
310 



THE EEL. 311 

cious of life, and days after they have been 
supposed dead, perfectly recover their vitality. 
One was found in a mat of flax, which had been 
a. month out of the ship, and it is unknown how 
long it had been in its hiding-place. It became 
quite lively on being put into a tub of fresh 
water. They often leave the water, especially 
when the grass is wet with dew, either to change 
their habitation, or in search of frogs, etc. Mr. 
St. John watched a great number of young eels 
ascending the river Findhorn, swimming against 
the stream, though they were not larger than a 
quill. "When they came to a fall," he says, 
"where they could not possibly ascend, they 
wriggled out of the water, and gliding along 
the rock, close to the edge, where the stone was 
constantly wet from the splashing and spray of 
the fall, they made their way up till they got 
above the difficulty, and then again slipping into 
the water, they continued their course." 

The largest of all eels is the conger, the flesh 
of which is coarse, but is eaten by the poorer 
classes. It is common all round the English 
coasts, but particularly abundant on that of 
Cornwall. They occasionally measure ten feet 
in length, and weigh 130 pounds. They are 
very strong, and will fight fiercely. Otters are 
their great antagonists, and will generally man- 
age to overcome them. 



312 FIRESIDE READING. 

The muraense, which are speckled with yellow, 
brown, and violet, used to be kept in ponds by 
the Romans, where they were fattened. A 
story is told of a master throwing his slaves to 
them, to be eaten alive. They are beautifully 
marked, but they are among those animals 
which convey an idea of wickedness by their 
appearance. They bite very severely, are found 
on the coasts of various seas, besides the Medi- 
terranean and Atlantic. 

The lampreys, guilty of royal death, inas- 
much as Henry I is said to have eaten too much 
of them for supper, and brought on a fit of in- 
digestion of which he died, belong to a whole 
body of fishes, which, instead of having hard 
bones, like others, have only cartilages, and the 
gills of some of them are fastened to their skin. 
Lampreys are among the latter, and the water 
escapes through holes instead of wide openings ; 
hence the name often given to them, of nine 
holes or seven holes, according to the number 
of these openings. Their lips are fleshy, and 
circular, supported by a cartilaginous ring, 
which is set with strong teeth; and tubercles 
covered with bone furnish the inside of the lips. 
The tongue also has two rows of small teeth, 
and acts like a piston, so that our readers will 
imagine the great power of suction which they 
possess. When once they fasten themselves to 



THE EEL. 313 

an object, it is scarcely possible to make them 
let go their hold, even sharp blows being inef- 
fectual. The large ones are inhabitants of the 
sea, but come far up rivers in the spring to 
deposit their eggs. Some kinds of them are 
thought to be particularly good; but every- 
where they have a most unprepossessing ap- 
pearance. 

The lesser lamprey, or lampern, is highly 
valued. Mr. St. John one day amused himself 
by watching two of them, or a still smaller spe- 
cies, as they busied themselves in making little 
triangular heaps of stones about as large as a 
pea. When they wished to move a larger stone 
they helped each other to roll it ; occasionally 
they left off to rest, and then returned to work 
with fresh vigor, occasionally bringing their ma- 
terials a distance of two feet against the cur- 
rent, and moving them to the place with great 
difficulty. 



THE sturgeon, in its general form, resembles 
a fresh-water pike. Formidable as this 
large and finely-tasted fish is in appearance, it 
is perfectly harmless ; the body, which is from 
six to eighteen feet in length, is pentagonal, 
armed from head to tail with five rows of large 
bony tubercles, each of which ends in a strong 
recurved tip; one of these is on the back, one 
on each side, and two on the margin of the 
belly. The snout is long, and obtuse at the end, 
and has the tendrils near the tip. The mouth, 
which is beneath the head, is somewhat like the 
opening of a purse, and is so formed as to be 
pushed suddenly out, or retracted. The upper 
part of the body is of a dirty olive color ; the 
lower parts silvery ; and the tubercles are white 
in the middle. The tendrils on the snout, which 
are some inches in length, have so great a re- 
semblance in form to earth-worms, that, at first 

sight, they might be mistaken for them. By 
314 



THE STURGEON. 315 

this contrivance, this clumsy, toothless fish is 
supposed to keep himself in good condition, the 
solidity of his flesh evidently showing him to be 
a fish of prey. He is said to hide his body 
among the weeds near the sea-coast, or at the 
mouths of large rivers, only exposing his ten- 
drils, which small fishes or sea-insects, mistaking 
for real worms, approach to seize, and are 
sucked into the jaws of their enemy. He has 
been supposed by some to root into the soil at 
the bottom of the sea or rivers ; but, if this 
were the case, the tendrils above mentioned, 
which hang from his snout over his mouth, must 
be very inconvenient to him ; as he has no 
jaws, it is evident that he lives by suction, and, 
during his residence in the sea, marine insects 
are generally found in his stomach, whole or 
partly digested. 

Of this fish there are three species, the com- 
mon sturgeon, the caviar sturgeon, and the 
huso, or isinglass fish. The largest sturgeon we 
have heard of caught in Great Britain, was a 
fish taken in the Eske, where they arc most 
frequently found, which weighed four hundred 
and sixty pounds. An enormous size to those 
who have only enjoyed the sight of our fresh- 
water fishes ! 

As the sturgeon is a harmless fish, and no 
way voracious, it is never caught by a bait in 



316 FIRESIDE READING. 

the ordinary manner of fishing, but always in 
nets. From the quality of floundering at the 
bottom it has received its name ; which comes 
from the German verb stoeren, signifying to 
wallow in the mud. 

The usual time for the sturgeon to come up 
rivers to deposit its spawn is about the begin- 
ning of summer, when the fishermen of all the 
large European rivers make a regular prepara- 
tion for its reception. At Pillau, in Russia, 
particularly, the shores are formed into districts, 
and allotted to companies of fishermen, some 
of which are rented for about three hundred 
pounds a year. The nets in which the stur- 
geon is caught, are made of small cord, and 
placed across the mouth of the river ; but in 
such a manner . that, whether the tide ebbs or 
flows, the pouch of the net goes with the stream. 
The sturgeon thus caught, while in the water, is 
one of the strongest fishes that swims, and often 
breaks the net to pieces that incloses it; but 
the instant it is raised with its head above water 
all its activity ceases ; it is then a lifeless, spirit- 
less lump, and suffers itself to be tamely dragged 
on shore by any thing or any body that pleases 
to touch it. 

The flesh of this animal pickled is very well 
known at all the tables of Europe ; and is even 
more prized in England than in any of the 



THE STURGEON. 317 

countries where it is usually caught.* The 
fishermen have two different methods of pre- 
paring it. The one is by cutting it in long 
pieces lengthwise, and having salted them, by 
hanging them up in the sun to dry: the fish 
thus prepared is sold in all the countries of the 
Levant, and supplies the want of better pro- 
vision. The other method, which is usually 
practiced in Holland, and along the shores of 
the Baltic, is to cut the sturgeon crosswise into 
short pieces, and put it into small barrels, with 
a pickle made of salt and saumure. This is the 
sturgeon which is sold in England, and of which 
great quantities come from the north. 

A very great trade is also carried on with the 
roe of the sturgeon, preserved in a particular 
manner, and called caviar : it is made from the 
roe of all kinds of sturgeon, but particularly 
the second. This is much more in request in 
other countries of Europe than in England. 
To all these high-relished meats, the appetite 
must be formed by degrees; and though for- 
merly, even in England, it was very much in re- 
quest at the politest tables, it is at present sunk 
entirely into disuse. It is still, however, a con- 
siderable merchandise among the Turks, Greeks, 



"The sturgeon is found in the rivers of America, and La fre- 
quently taken in the nets of the shad fishers. Bat it is not 

greatly esteemed iu this country for the tabic 



318 FIRESIDE READING. 

and Venetians. Caviar somewhat resembles soft 
soap in consistence; but it is of a brown, uni- 
form color, and is eaten as cheese with bread. 



XI. 

SfyKrits. 

WE now come to the terrible monsters of the 
deep, in the shape of sharks. They in- 
habit all large seas, are cartilaginous fishes, 
and their mouths being placed considerably 
under their muzzles, they are obliged to turn 
very much on one side when they seize their 
prey. They even attack whales with success, 
and the Greenland shark, says Dr. Scoresby, 
after being run through with a knife, will return 
to his banquet. 

"On my first voyage," says Mrs. Lee, "I 
most anxiously desired to see a shark; and an 
immense chain and hook were accordingly hung 
out at the stern of the vessel; the latter baited 
Avith a piece of salt pork. Several followed us, 
but did not swallow the pork. One, however, 
frequently seemed tempted, but was too wary to 
be in a hurry; I watched him from one of the 
stern windows, and one day as he was coquet- 
ting with it, and just turning up his mouth, I 

contrived to jerk the hook into it, and he w*S 

319 



320 FIRESIDE READING. 

secured. I ran upon deck to announce my suc- 
cess, and most of the men rushed aft to haul up 
the prize; a boat was lowered to assist below, 
and the monster was laid on the deck. He 
measured nearly twelve feet, and as he lashed 
his tail about, the ship quivered as if she had 
fired a broadside. He was soon dispatched, cut 
up, his formidable jaws taken out and hung up 
to whiten ; his backbone cleaned, to be made 
into \ walking-canes ;' separate pieces reserved 
for rings for the men's handkerchiefs ; and fa- 
vorite parts selected for drying over the caboose 
fire; or fresh steaks for dinner. Some of the 
crew regretted that they had not found any 
treasure in his stomach, that he might have 
swallowed, but they enjoyed then steaks, or 
said they did ; to me this seemed impossible ; 
one taste being quite enough to create disgust. 
" Sharks abounded at Cape Coast, and one 
day, as I stood at a window commanding a view 
of the sea, I saw some of the inhabitants of the 
town bathing, and the sharks hastening to seize 
upon them ; they being visible from always 
swimming with part of their dorsal fin out of 
water. I sent to warn the men of their danger, 
and all came ashore except one, who laughed at 
the caution of his companions. A huge shark 
was rapidly approaching, and I sent my servant 
again, and this time armed with half a bottle of 



SHARKS. 321 

rum, to bribe the man to save himself. It was 
too late ; the murderous creature had seized him, 
and the water around was djed with his blood. 
A canoe was dispatched to bring him ashore, 
but a wave threw him on to the beach ; and it 
was found that the shark had taken the thigh- 
bone completely out of the socket. The man, 
of course, expired in a very few minutes. Ac- 
cidents were often happening, and always fatal, 
and yet the negroes, who seldom think beyond 
the present moment, could not be dissuaded 
from bathing. A man walking in the sea up to 
his knees was dragged away by one, almost be- 
fore my eyes." 

Sharks, of which there are several species, 
are the most formidable creatures met with in 
the wide ocean. The white shark, as it is 
called, is the most celebrated of the tribe ; be- 
ing, from its size and voracity, the terror of 
mariners in the seas it inhabits. It frequents 
warm latitudes, but has occasionally visited 
more northern shores. This terrible creature 
has been known to attain thirty feet in length, 
and to reach from three to four thousand pounds 
in weight. The opening of the jaws in the 
larger individuals is sufficient with ease to admit 
the body of a man. The mouth is placed on the 
under surface of the head, from which circum- 
stance the fish can not bite while in the act of 
21 n 



322 FIRESIDE READING. 

swimming forward, so that a dexterous person, 
by diving, may evade his attack. So acute and 
strong are the teeth, that they are used by 
many savage nations as the armature of their 
weapons. The shark possesses the sense of 
smell in a remarkable degree ; for it seems con- 
scious by this faculty that there are sick per- 
sons on board of vessels, and that their bodies 
at death would be consigned to the deep. For 
the chance of picking up what has been thrown 
overboard, and particularly when disease is in the 
ship, they will follow vessels hundreds of miles. 
The appearance of a shark playing about a 
vessel in anticipation of its prey, suggests feel- 
ings of horror. With rows of teeth erect, open 
jaws, goggling eyes, large and bristly fins 
agitated like the mane of a lion, his whole as- 
pect is an emphatical picture of the fiercest, 
deepest, and most savage malignity. 

"Increasing still the terrors of the storms, 
His jaws horrific armed with threefold fate, 
Here dwells the direful shark. Lured by the scent 
Of streaming crowds, of rank disease, and death, 
Behold ! he rushing cuts the hriny flood, 
Swift as the gale can hear the ship along ; 
And, from the partners of that cruel trade 
Which spoils unhappy Guinea of her sons, 
Demands his share of prey, demands themselves. 
The stormy fates descend, one death involves 
Tyrants and slaves ; when straight, their mangled limbs 
Crashing at once, he dyes the purple seas 
With gore, and riots in the vengeful meal." 



SHARKS. 323 

A few passages from Bingley's Animal Bi- 
ography may be given as illustrative of the 
character of this ferocious denizen of the deep. 
" The master of a Guinea ship informed Mr. 
Pennant, that a rage for suicide prevailed 
among his slaves, from an opinion entertained 
by the unfortunate wretches that, after death, 
they should be restored to their families, friends, 
and country. To convince them that their 
bodies could never be reanimated, he ordered 
the corpse of one that was just dead to be tied 
by the heels to a rope, and lowered into the sea. 
It was drawn up again as quickly as the united 
force of the crew could do it ; yet, in that very 
short time, the sharks had devoured every part 
but the feet, which were secured by the end of 
the cord. 

" In the pearl- fisheries of South America, 
every negro, to defend himself against these 
animals, carries with him into the water a sharp 
knife, which, if the fish offers to assault him, he 
endeavors to strike into its belly ; on which it 
generally swims off. The officers who are in 
the vessels keep a watchful eye on these vora- 
cious creatures; and, when they observe them 
approach, shake the ropes fastened to the ne- 
groes, to put them on their guard. Many, 
when the divers have been in danger, have 
thrown themselves into the water with knives in 



324 FIRESIDE READING. 

their Lands, and hastened to their defense ; but 
too often all their dexterity and precaution 
have been of no avail. 

" We are told that in the reign of Queen 
Anne, a merchant-ship arrived at Barbadoes 
from England, some of the men of which were 
one day bathing in the sea, when a large shark 
appeared, and sprang forward directly at them. 
A person from the ship called out to warn them 
of their danger, on which they all immediately 
swam to the vessel, and arrived in perfect safety, 
except one poor fellow, who was cut in two by 
the shark almost in reach of the oars. A com- 
rade and most intimate friend of the unfortunate 
victim, when he observed the severed trunk of 
his companion, was seized with a degree of hor- 
ror that words can not describe. The insatiable 
shark was seen traversing the bloody surface in 
search of the remainder of his prey, when the 
brave youth plunged into the water, determining 
either to make the shark disgorge, or to be 
buried himself in the same grave. He held in 
his hand a long and sharp-pointed knife, and 
the rapacious animal pushed furiously toward 
him : he had turned on his side, and opened his 
enormous jaws, in order to seize him, when the 
youth, diving dexterously under, seized him with 
his left hand somewhere below the upper fins, 
and stabbed him several times in the belly. 



SHARKS. 325 

The shark, enraged with the pain, and stream- 
ing with blood, plunged in all directions in order 
to disengage himself from his enemy. The 
crews of the surrounding vessels saw that the 
combat was decided; but they were ignorant 
which was slain, till the shark, weakened at 
length by loss of blood, made toward the shore, 
and along with him his conqueror, who, flushed 
with victory, pushed his foe with redoubled 
ardor, and, with the aid of an ebbing tide, drag- 
ged him on shore. Here he ripped up the 
bowels of the animal, obtained the severed re- 
mainder of his friend's body, and buried it with 
the trunk in the same grave. This story, how- 
ever incredible it may appear, is related in the 
history of Barbadoes, on the most satisfactory 
authority. 

" The West-Indian negroes often venture to 
contend with the shark in close combat. They 
know his power to be limited by the position of 
his mouth underneath ; and, as soon as they dis- 
cover him, they dive beneath, and, in rising, 
stab him before he has an opportunity of putting 
himself into a state of defense. Thus do bold- 
ness and address unite in triumph over strength 
and ferocity. 

"The South-Sea islanders are not in the least 
afraid of the sharks, but will swim among them 
without exhibiting the least signs of fear. ' I 



326 FIRESIDE READING. 

have seen,' says Captain Portlock, c five or six 
large sharks swimming about the ship, when 
there have been upward of a hundred Indians 
in the water, both men and women : thej seem 
quite indifferent about them, and the sharks 
never offered to make an attack on any of them, 
and yet at the same time would seize our bait 
greedily ; whence it is manifest that they derive 
their confidence of safety from their experience, 
that they are able to repel the attacks of those 
devouring monsters.' 

" An Indian, on the coast of California, on 
plunging into the sea, was seized by a shark ; 
but by a most extraordinary feat of activ- 
ity, cleared himself, and, though considerably 
wounded, threw blood and water at the animal, 
to show his bravery and contempt. But the 
Voracious monster seized him with horrid vio- 
lence a second time, and in a moment dragged 
him to the bottom. His companions, though not 
far from him, and much affected by the loss, 
were not able to render him any assistance 
whatever." 

The vitality of the shark is very remarkable. 
After being mangled and apparently killed, it 
seems to possess the power of doing injury. 
While lying as if dead on the deck of a vessel, 
its jaws will make a sudden snap at any thing 
near it. Acquainted with these unlooked-for 



SHARKS. 327 

and deadly proceedings, the sailors jocularly 
call the shark a "sea-lawyer." 

In some parts of the world sharks are hunted 
as a kind of sport, and though we can not be- 
lieve it to be commendable to take pleasure in 
the death of any animal, there seems a reasona- 
ble ground for taking every available means to 
rid the sea of this ferocious creature. Shark- 
hunting is carried on as a sporting exercise on 
the coasts of Sumatra, and is described in 
Egan's Book of Sports, from the account of a 
traveler. " I was walking," observes this writer, 
"on the bank of the river at the time when some 
up-country boats were delivering their cargoes. 
A considerable number of coolies was employed 
on shore in the work, all of whom I observed 
running away in apparent trepidation from the 
edge of the water — returning again, as if eager, 
yet afraid, to approach some object, and again 
returning as before. I found, on inquiry, that 
the cause of all this perturbation was the ap- 
pearance of a large and strange-looking fish, 
swimming close to the bank, and almost in the 
midst of the boats. I hastened to the spot to 
ascertain the matter, when I perceived a huge 
monster of a shark Bailing along — now near the 
surface of the water, and now sinking doun ap- 
parently in pursuit of his prey. At this mo- 
ment, a native on the choppah roofs of o\w of 



328 FIRESIDE READING. 

the boats, with a rope in his hand, which he was 
slowly coiling up, surveyed the shark's motions 
with a look that evidently indicated he had a 
serious intention of encountering him in his 
own element. Holding the rope, on which he 
had made a sort of running knot, in one hand, 
and stretching out the other arm, as if already 
in the act of swimming, he stood in an attitude 
truly picturesque, waiting the reappearance of 
the shark. At about six or eight yards from 
the boat, the animal rose near the surface, when 
the native instantly plunged into the water, a 
short distance from the very jaws of the mon- 
ster. The shark immediately turned round, and 
swam slowly toward the man, who, in his turn, 
nothing daunted, struck out the arm that was at 
liberty, and approached his foe. When within 
a foot or two of the shark, the native dived be- 
neath him, the animal going down almost at the 
same instant. The bold assailant in this most 
frightful contest soon reappeared on the oppo- 
site side of the shark, swimming fearlessly with 
the hand he had at liberty, and holding the rope 
behind his back with the other. The shark, 
which had also by this time made his appear- 
ance, again immediately swam toward him; and 
while the animal was apparently in the act of lift- 
ing himself over the lower part of the native's 
body, that he might seize upon his prey, the 



SHARKS. 329 

man, making a strong effort, threw himself up 
perpendicularly, and went down with his feet 
foremost, the shark following him so simulta- 
neously, that I was fully impressed with the idea 
that they had gone down grappling together. 
As far as I could judge, they remained nearly 
twenty seconds out of sight, while I stood in 
breathless anxiety, and, I may add, horror, 
waiting the result of this fearful encounter. 
Suddenly the native made his appearance, hold- 
ing up both his hands over his head, and calling 
out with a voice that proclaimed the victory he 
had won while underneath the wave, ' Tan, 
tan!' The people in the boat were all pre- 
pared ; the rope was instantly drawn tight ; and 
the struggling victim, lashing the water in his 
wrath, was dragged to the shore and dispatched. 
When measured, his length was found to be six 
feet nine inches, his girth, at the greatest, three 
feet seven inches. The native who achieved 
this intrepid and dexterous exploit bore no other 
marks of his finny enemy than a cut on his left 
arm, evidently received from coming in contact 
with the tail, or some one of the fins of the 
animal. " 

That amusing writer, Captain Basil Hall, men- 
tions some interesting peculiarities in sharks. 
He tells us that such is their voracity, they will 
swallow almost any thing they observe floating 



330 FIRESIDE BEADING. 

in the sea, provided it be not too large to take 
at a mouthful. When a shark is killed by sail- 
ors, they always show a lively curiosity to learn 
what it has stowed away in its inside. Gener- 
ally the stomach is empty; "but," says Cap- 
tain Hall, " I remember one famous exception, 
indeed, when a very large fellow was caught on 
board the Alceste, in Anjeer Roads, Java, when 
we were proceeding to China with the embassy 
under Lord Amherst. A number of ducks and 
hens, which had died in the night, were as usual 
thrown overboard in the morning, besides sev- 
eral baskets, and many other minor things, such 
as bundles of shavings and bits of cordage, all 
which things were found in this huge sea-mon- 
ster's inside. But what excited most surprise 
and admiration was the hide of a buffalo, killed 
on board that day for the ship-company's dinner. 
The old sailor who had cut open the shark stood 
with a foot on each side, and drew up the arti- 
cles one by one from the huge cavern into which 
they had been indiscriminately drawn. When 
the operator came at last to the buffalo's skin, 
he held it up before him like a curtain, and ex- 
claimed, ' There, my lads, d'ye see that ! He 
has swallowed a buffalo, but he could not digest 
the hide!'" 

Hardy, in his Travels through Mexico, gives 
the following lively account of an escape from a 



SHARKS. 331 

shark: " The Placer de la Piedra Negada, which 
is near Loretta, was supposed to have quantities 
of very large pearl-oysters around it — a suppo- 
sition which was at once confirmed by the great 
difficulty of finding this sunken rock. Don 
Pablo, however, succeeded in sounding it, and, 
in search of specimens of the largest and oldest 
shells, dived down in eleven fathoms' water. 
The rock is not above one hundred and fifty or 
two hundred yards in circumference, and our 
adventurer swam round and examined it in all 
directions, but without meeting any inducement 
to prolong his stay. Accordingly, being satis- 
fied that there were no oysters, he thought of 
ascending to the surface of the water; but first 
he cast a look upward, as all divers arc obliged 
to do, who hope to avoid the hungry jaws of a 
monster. If the coast is clear, they may then 
rise without apprehension. Don Pablo, how- 
ever, when he cast a hasty glance upward, found 
that a tintetero had taken a station about three 
or four yards immediately above him, and most 
probably had been watching during the whole 
time that he had been down. A double-pointed 
stick is a useless weapon against a tintetero, as 
its mouth is of such enormous dimensions, that 
both man and stick would be swallo>ved together. 
He therefore felt himself rather nervous, as his 
retreat was now completely intercepted. But, 



332 FIRESIDE READING. 

under water, time is too precious to be spent in 
reflection, and therefore he swam round to an- 
other point of the rock, hoping by this artifice 
to avoid the vigilance of his persecutor. What 
was his dismay when he again looked up, to find 
the pertinacious tintetero still hovering over him 
as a hawk would follow a bird ! He described 
him as having large, round, inflammable eyes, 
apparently just ready to dart from their sock- 
ets with eagerness, and a mouth — at the recol- 
lection of which he still shuddered — that was 
constantly opening and shutting, as if the mon- 
ster was already, in imagination, devouring his 
victim, or, at least, that the contemplation of 
his prey imparted a foretaste of the gout! Two 
alternatives now presented themselves to the 
mind of Don Pablo: one, to suffer himself to 
be drowned; the other, to be eaten. He had 
already been under water so considerable a 
time, that he found it impossible any longer to 
retain his breath, and was on the point of giv- 
ing himself up for lost, with as much philosophy 
as he possessed. But what is dearer than life ? 
The invention of man is seldom at a loss to find 
expedients for its preservation in cases of great 
extremity. On a sudden, he recollected that on 
one side of the rock he had observed a sandy 
spot, and to this he swam with all imaginable 
speed; his attentive friend still watching his 



SHARKS. 333 

movements, and keeping a measured pace with 
him. As soon as he reached the spot, he com- 
menced stirring it with his pointed stick, in such 
a way that the fine particles rose, and rendered 
the water perfectly turbid, so that he could not 
see the monster, nor the monster him. Availing 
himself of the cloud by which he and the tin- 
tetero were enveloped, he swam very far out in 
a transvertical direction, and reached the sur- 
face in safety, although completely exhausted. 
Fortunately, he rose close to one of the boats ; 
and those who were within, seeing him in such a 
state, and knowing that an enemy must have 
been persecuting him, and that by some artifice 
he had saved his life, jumped overboard, as is 
their common practice in such cases, to frighten 
the creature away by splashing in the water ; 
and Don Pablo was taken into the boat more 
dead than alive." 

The beautiful bay of Havana, Island of Cuba, 
is known to be frequented by sharks, whose gam- 
bols amuse the natives, though they have also 
occasion to lament the injuries they inllict, in 
cases of men accidentally falling into the water. 
The following anecdote in reference to a case 
of this kind, was communicated by a highly- 
rcspcctable military officer who bore a consider- 
able share in the adventure : 

" Subsequent to the disastrous attack on the 



334 FIRESIDE READING. 

American lines before New Orleans, on the 8th 
of January, 1815, the army proceeded to Isle 
Dauphine, in the Gulf of Mexico, where the 
troops remained till peace was concluded be- 
tween Great Britain and the United States. 
As the men had been for several months ex- 
posed to severe hardships and many privations, 
the fleet was ordered, on its way home, to put 
into different ports for the purpose of procuring 
fresh meat and vegetables. The ship I was on 
board of, with the regiment which I then com- 
manded, belonged to that part of the fleet which 
touched at the Havana. The circumstance I 
am about to relate is the capture of an enor- 
mous shark, which created considerable interest 
at the time. On arriving at the Havana, I 
obtained leave from the general ofiicer com- 
manding to live on shore, for the purpose of 
seeing something of the island. I generally 
went on board every morning about ten o'clock 
to give the necessary orders for the regiment. 
Several of the men had died during the passage 
to Havana, and were consigned to the deep in 
the harbor of that place. One morning, when 
I was writing in the cabin, I heard a sudden 
running of the men upon deck toward the after- 
part of the vessel, and a sergeant called to me 
from above to come on deck immediately. Not 
being exactly aware of what was going on I 



SHARKS. 335 

drew my saber, and ran on deck without my 
cap. I was received with a good laugh by the 
officers present, and very soon was made aware 
of the object of the men's curiosity. It was a 
sight I never can forget. One of our poor fel- 
lows had been thrown overboard in the morn- 
ing, sewed up in his blanket, with a shot inside 
to sink him. By some accident, the sewing 
must have been loosened, and, consequently, 
the body floated : and just as I came on deck, 
two enormous sharks made a dash at the body, 
dividing it in two, and disappeared with their 
spoil. A feeling of horror ran through every 
spectator. At that instant, a third shark 
showed himself close to our vessel. I called to 
the men to keep him along side, by throwing him 
pieces of biscuit, at the same time desiring one of 
them to bring me a musket, on getting which, I 
fired at the animal, and the men shouted out 
that the ball had gone clean through him. He 
gave a flap with his tail, and went down, leaving 
the water slightly tinged with blood. At this 
moment the black who beat the large drum came 
aft, and said to me: 'Major, if you give me 
leave, I kill him and eat him in five minutes.' 
I told him he should have live dollars for his 
pains if he kept his word, lie immediately pro- 
duced a shark-hook, baited it with a pieoe o\^ 
pork, and having fastened it to a strong line, 



336 FIRESIDE READING. 

threw it high into the air, and let it fall with a 
splash into the water. The effect was magical. 
Quick as lightning, two of the sharks were seen 
making toward the bait, and, in an instant, one 
of them swallowed it. 'Now is the time, gren- 
adier,' cried blackie, 'clap on the rope-line, 
and give him plenty o' play!' Away went the 
monster like a whale, but our Othello's 'occu- 
pation was not gone,' and he commanded the 
grenadier like an experienced general, till his 
enemy was lying spent and powerless on the 
surface of the water. A boat was now low- 
ered, and the animal having been hauled along 
side, a noose was made on a very thick rope, 
and he was swung into the air amidst the cheers 
of the whole fleet, every yard having been 
manned to witness our proceeding. The tail 
having been cut, the shark was laid on the 
deck, and blackie having selected a delicate 
piece from the shoulder, immediately proceeded 
to fulfill the latter part of his bargain, by broil- 
ing and eating it. The shark measured eleven 
feet in length, and seven feet across. The liver 
weighed seventy-three pounds. In the upper 
jaw were five rows of teeth, and in the under, 
six rows. I had the satisfaction to see that my 
aim had been good, as the mark of the ball was 
about two inches below the dorsal fin, and had 
gone 'clean through,' as the men said. Not- 



SHARKS. 337 

withstanding this wound, the voracious creature 
had returned to the charge within five minutes. 
The shark was a female, and had nineteen young 
ones in her belly when opened. They measured 
about eighteen inches each. During the time 
she was along side, I, as well as two hundred 
others, had an opportunity of observing the 
young ones passing in and out of the mother's 
mouth ; they seemed to take refuge there on the 
least appearance of danger. This fact, I be- 
lieve, has been doubted by some naturalists. 
The jaw of this animal is now at Abbotsford, 
having been sent to Sir Walter Scott by the 
writer of this account. 

" Strange to say, we got no thanks for hav- 
ing killed the shark. A complaint was lodged 
against me by the authorities of Havana, for 
having destroyed one of the ' guardians of their 
harbor.' By this, I suppose, they meant, that 
the large sharks playing about at the mouth of 
the harbor, prevented a great fry of smaller ones 
from entering." 

The hammer-headed shark stands alone in 
creation, as far as we know, in its formation. 
Its head is flattened horizontally, and branches 
out on each side; so that it forms a straight 
line at the end; and two square appendages on 
each side, at the extremities of which the eves 
arc placed. Captain William Allen, commander 



338 FIRESIDE READING. 

of the Wilberforce, in the Niger Expedition, 
says two followed his vessel for some time, 
to the dismay of the superstitious among the 
sailors. "It is," continues he, "certainly one 
of the most singular and horrible-looking of 
fishes. As the animal, in its zigzag move- 
ments, slightly raises one side, and depresses 
the other, the eye has a most revolting aspect: 
its appearance is most repulsive." 

When young, and about a foot and a half 
long, the natives on the African coast think 
them very good eating; and when full grown 
they are not as dangerous as others, because 
their formation prevents them from being 
equally active; their omnivorous propensities, 
however, are equally developed. 

The barracuda of the Bahamas and West 
Indies, often more than ten feet long, is almost 
as much dreaded as the shark ; and is said to be 
particularly greedy of human flesh. In one re- 
spect, it is worse than the shark, because noise 
and disturbance will not frighten it away. It 
swims with great force, and is formidable to 
other fishes as well as men. The poorer inhab- 
itants eat its flesh; but with much caution, as 
it is at times poisonous. If death do not result, 
pains in the joints arise ; the hair and nails peel 
off, and these symptoms will continue for years. 
Another remarkable circumstance in regard to 



SHARKS. 339 

it is, that if the flesh be salted, no evil will arise 
from it. 

In some of the rivers and lakes of the conti- 
nent of Europe, is a fish which rivals a shark in 
its destructive propensities. It is a silurus, and 
other species exist in tropical rivers. It is said 
to devour all fishes except the perch, of whose 
spines it is afraid ; it also devours water fowls, 
and does not spare the human species. One was 
taken at Thorn which had a child in its stomach ; 
and, in Hungary, it is not uncommon to hear of 
children and young girls being devoured by it. 
It is even reported, that a poor fisherman caught 
one on the frontiers of Turkey, in whose body 
he found that of a woman, with her ring, and a 
purse full of gold. 

These formidable creatures are also described 
as being cunning enough, when inundations have 
taken place, to shake the trees and shrubs with 
their tail, on which terrestrial animals have taken 
refuge, and so, causing them to fall, secure them 
as their prey. Their flesh is quite white. The 
people of Hungary dry the fat parts, and keep 
them as a dressing for their vegetables; they 
burn their oil in lamps, make glue of the blad- 
der, and the Russian and Tartar peasants dry 
the skin, and use it instead of glass for windows. 



XII. 

% W|alt 

OF the whale, properly so called, there are no 
less than seven different kinds; all distin- 
guished from each other by their external figure 
or internal conformation: the great Greenland 
whale, without a back fin, and black on the 
back; the Iceland whale, without a back fin, 
and whitish on the back; the New England 
whale, with a hump on the back ; the whale with 
six humps on the back ; the fin-fish, with a fin 
on the back near the tail; the pike-headed 
whale ; and the round-lipped whale. All these 
differ from each other in figure, as their names 
obviously imply. They differ also somewhat in 
their manner of living; the fin-fish having a 
larger swallow than the rest ; being more active, 
slender, and fierce ; and living ohiefly upon her- 
rings. 

The great Greenland whale* is the fish for 

'-'This whale occurs most abundantly in the frozen seas of 
Greenland and Davis's Straits, in the bays of Baffin and Hudson, 
in the sea to the northward of Behring's Strait, and along some 

340 



THE WHALE. 341 

taking which there are such preparations made 
in different parts of Europe. It is a large, 
heavy animal, and the head alone makes a third 
of its bulk. It is usually found from sixty to 
seventy feet long. The fins on each side are 
from five to eight feet, composed of bones and 
muscles, and sufficiently strong to give speed 
and activity to the great mass of body which 
they move. 

The tail is twenty-four feet broad; and, when 
the fish lies on one side, its blow is tremendous. 
It is a curious piece of mechanism, consisting 
of two lobes wholly made up of strong tendi- 
nous fibers, connected with the major part of the 
muscular structure of the body. Of those fibers 
there are three distinct layers, of which the two 
external are in the direction of the lobes, and 
the internal in an opposite direction. This 



parts of the northern shores of Asia and probably America. It is 
never met with in the German Ocean, and rarely within three 
hundred leagues of the British coast ; but along the coasts of 
Africa and South America, it is met with periodically in consider- 
able numbers. In these regions it is attacked and captured by 
the southern British and American whalers, as well as by some of 
the people inhabiting the coasts, to the neighborhood of which it 
resorts. Whether this Whale IS precisely of the same kind as that 
of Bpitzbergen and Greenland is uncertain, though it is evidently 
a mysticetus. (hie striking difference, possibly the effeel of situa- 
tion and climate, is, that the mysticetus, found in southern re- 
gions, is often covered with barnacles, while those of the arctic 
seas are free from these shell-fish. — Oodmcm, 



342 FIRESIDE READING. 

structure renders the tail of the whale one of 
the most flexible of animal organs. It can 
move all ways with equal ease ; every part has 
its own individual motion. 

The skin is smooth and black, and in some 
places marbled with white and yellow; which, 
running over the surface, has a very beautiful 
effect. The outward or scarf-skin of the whale 
is no thicker than parchment ; but this removed, 
the real skin appears, of about an inch thick, 
and covering the fat or blubber that lies be- 
neath; this is from eight to twelve inches in 
thickness ; and is, when the fish is in health, of 
a beautiful yellow. The muscles lie beneath; 
and these, like the flesh of quadrupeds, are very 
red and tough. 

The cleft of the mouth is above twenty feet 
long, which is near one-third of the animal's 
whole length ; and the upper jaw is furnished 
with barbs, that lie, like the pipes of an organ, 
the greatest in the middle, and the smallest on 
the sides. These compose the whalebone, ab- 
surdly called fins, the longest spars of which 
are found to be not less than eighteen feet. 
The tongue is almost immovably fixed to the 
lower jaw, seeming one great lump of fat ; and, 
in fact, it fills several hogsheads with blubber. 
The eyes are not larger than those of an ox ; 
and when the crystalline humor is dried, it does 



THE WHALE. 343 

not appear larger than a pea. They are placed 
toward the back of the head, being the most 
convenient situation for enabling them to see 
both before and behind; as also to see over 
them, where their food is principally found. 
They are guarded by eyelids and eyelashes, as 
in quadrupeds; and they seem to be very sharp- 
sighted. 

Nor is their sense of hearing in less perfec- 
tion; for they are warned, at great distances, 
of any danger preparing against them. We 
have already observed, that the substance called 
whalebone, is taken from the upper jaw of the 
animal, and is very different from the real bones 
of the whale. The real bones are hard, like 
those of great land animals, are very porous, 
and filled with marrow. Two great strong bones 
sustain the under lip, lying against each other 
in the shape of a half-moon ; some of these are 
twenty feet long; they are often seen in gardens 
set up against each other, and are usually mis- 
taken for the ribs. 

The fidelity of these animals to each other 
exceeds whatever we arc told of even the con- 
stancy of birds. Some fishers, as Anderson in- 
forms us, having struck one of two whales, a 
male and a female, that were in company to- 
gether, the wounded fish made a long and ter- 
rible resistance; it struck down a boat with 



844: FIRESIDE READING. 

three men in it, with a single blow of the tail, 
by which all went to the bottom. The other 
still attended its companion, and lent it every 
assistance; till, at last, the fish that was struck 
sunk under the number of its wounds; while its 
faithful associate, disdaining to survive the loss, 
with great bellowing, stretched itself upon the 
dead fish, and shared his fate. 

The whale goes with young nine or ten 
months, and is then fatter than usual, particu- 
larly when near the time of bringing forth. 
The young ones continue at the breast for a 
year: during which time they are called by the 
sailors short-heads. They are then extremely 
fat, and yield above fifty barrels of blubber. 
The mother, at the same time, is equally lean 
and emaciated. At the age of two years they 
are called stunts, as they do not thrive much 
immediately after quitting the breast ; they 
then yield scarce above twenty or twenty-four 
barrels of blubber : from that time forward they 
are called skull-fish, and their age is wholly 
unknown. The food of the whale is a small 
insect which is seen floating in those seas, and 
which Linnaeus terms the medusa. These in- 
sects are black, and of the size of a small 
bean, and are sometimes seen floating in clus- 
ters on the surface of the water. They are of 
a round form, like snails in a box, but they 



THE WHALE. 345 

have wings, which are so tender that it is 
scarce possible to touch them without break- 
ing. These, however, serve rather for swim- 
ming than %ing. They have the taste of raw 
muscles, and have the smell of burnt sugar. 
Inoffensive as the whale is, it is not without 
enemies. There is a small animal of the shell- 
fish kind called the whale-louse, that sticks to its 
body, as we see shells sticking to the foul bot- 
tom of a ship. This insinuates itself chiefly 
under the fins; and whatever efforts the great 
animal makes, it still keeps its hold, and lives 
upon the fat, which it is provided with instru- 
ments to arrive at. 

The sword-fish, however, is the whale's most 
terrible enemy. "At the sight of this little 
animal," says Anderson, " the whale seems agi- 
tated in an extraordinary manner, leaping from 
the water as if with affright: wherever it ap- 
pears, the whale perceives it. at a distance, and 
flies from it in the opposite direction. I have 
been myself," continues he, " a spectator of 
their terrible encounter. The whale has no in- 
strument of defense except the tail; with that 
it endeavors to strike the enemy; and a single 
blow taking placo would effectually destroy its 
adversary: but the sword-fish is as active as the 
other is strong, and easily avoids the stroke ; 
then bounding into the air, it falls upon its 



346 FIRESIDE READING. 

enemy, and endeavors not to pierce with its 
pointed beak, but to cut it with its toothed 
edges. The sea all about is soon died with 
blood, proceeding from the wounds of the 
whale; while the enormous animal vainly en- 
deavors to reach its invader, and strikes with 
its tail against the surface of the water, making 
a report at each blow louder than the noise of 
a cannon." 

There is still another and more powerful 
enemy, called, by the fishermen of New Eng- 
land, the killer. This is itself supposed to be a 
cetaceous animal, armed with strong and power- 
ful teeth. A number of these are said to sur- 
round the whale in the same manner as dogs get 
round a bull. Some attack it with their teeth 
behind; others attempt it before; till at last 
the great animal is torn down, and its tongue 
is said to be the only part they devour when 
they have made it their prey. They are said 
to be of such great strength, that one of them 
alone was known to stop a dead whale that sev- 
eral boats were towing along, and drag it from 
among them to the bottom. 

But of all the enemies of these enormous 
fishes, man is the greatest : he alone destroys 
more in a year than the rest in an age, and 
actually has thinned then- numbers in that part 
of the world where they are chiefly sought. At 



THE WHALE. 347 

the first discovery of Greenland, whales not 
being used to be disturbed, frequently came into 
the very bays, and were accordingly killed al- 
most close to the shore; so that the blubber 
being cut off was immediately boiled into oil on 
the spot. The ships in those times took in noth- 
ing but the pure oil and the whalebone, and all 
the business was executed in the country; by 
which means a ship could bring home the prod- 
uct of many more whales than she can accord- 
ing to the present method of conducting this 
trade. The fishery also was then so plentiful, 
that they were obliged sometimes to send other 
ships to fetch off the oil they had made, the 
quantity being more than the fishing ships could 
bring away. But time and change of circum- 
stances have shifted the situation of this trade. 
The ships coming in such numbers from Hol- 
land, Denmark, Hamburg, and other northern 
countries, all intruders upon the English, who 
were the first discoverers of Greenland, the 
whales were disturbed, and gradually, as other 
fish often do, forsaking the place, were not to be 
killed so near the shore as before; but are now 
found, and have been so ever since, in the open- 
ings and space among the ice, where they have 
deep water, and where they go sometimes a 
great many leagues from the shore. 

The whale fishery begins in May, and con- 



348 FIRESIDE READING. 

tinues all June and July ; but whether the ships 
have good or bad success, they must come away, 
and get clear of the ice by the end of August; 
so that in the month of September at farthest 
they may be expected home; but a ship that 
meets with a fortunate and early fishery in May, 
may return in June or July. 

The manner of taking whales at present is as 
follows : Every ship is provided with six boats, 
to each of which belongs six men for rowing the 
boat, and a harpooner, whose business it is to 
strike the whale with his harpoon. Two of 
these boats are kept constantly on the watch at 
some distance from the ship, fastened to pieces 
of ice, and are relieved by others every four 
hours. As soon as a whale is perceived, both 
the boats set out in pursuit of it, and if either 
of them can come up before the whale finally 
descends, which is known by his throwing up his 
tail, the harpooner discharges his harpoon at 
him. There is no difficulty in choosing the 
place where the whale is to be struck, as some 
have asserted ; for these creatures only come up 
to the surface in order to spout up the water, or 
bloiv, as the fishermen term it, and therefore 
always keep the soft and vulnerable part of 
their bodies above water. As soon as the whale 
is struck, the men set up one of their oars in 
the middle of the boat as a signal to those in 



THE WHALE. 349 

the ship. On perceiving this, the watchman 
alarms all the rest with the cry of fall! fall! 
upon which all the other boats are immediately 
sent out to the assistance of the first. 

The whale, finding himself wounded, runs off 
with prodigious violence. Sometimes he de- 
scends perpendicularly ; at others goes off hori- 
zontally, at a small depth below the surface. 
The rope which is fastened to the harpoon is 
about two hundred fathoms long, and properly 
coiled up, that it may be freely given out as 
there is a demand for it. At first, the velocity 
with which this line runs over the side of the 
boat is so great, that it is wetted to prevent its 
taking fire : but in a short time the strength of 
the whale begins to fail, and the fishermen, in- 
stead of letting out more rope, strive as much 
as possible to pull back what is given out al- 
ready, though they always find themselves ne- 
cessitated to yield to the last efforts of the 
animal, to prevent his sinking their boat. If he 
runs out the two hundred fathoms of line con- 
tained in one boat, that belonging to another is 
immediately fastened to the end of the first, and 
so on; and there have been instances where all 
the rope belonging to the six boats has boon nec- 
essary, though half that quantity is seldom re- 
quired. The whale can not stay long below water, 
but again comes up to blow: and being now much 



350 FIRESIDE BEADING. 

fatigued and wounded, stays longer above water 
than usual. This gives another boat time to 
come up with him, and he is again struck with a 
harpoon. He again descends, but with less 
force than before ; and when he comes up again, 
is generally incapable of descending, but suffers 
himself to be wounded and killed with long 
lances, which the men are provided with for the 
purpose. He is known to be near death when 
he spouts up the water deeply tinged with blood. 
The whale, being dead, is lashed along side 
the ship. They then lay it on one side, and put 
two ropes, one at the head, and the other in the 
place of the tail, which, together with the fins, 
is struck off as soon as he is taken, to keep 
these extremities above water. On the off side 
of the whale are two boats, to receive the pieces 
of fat, utensils, and men, that might otherwise 
fall into the water on that side. These precau- 
tions being taken, three or four men with irons 
at their feet, to prevent slipping, get on the 
whale, and begin to cut out pieces of about 
three feet thick and eight long, which are hauled 
up at the capstan or windlass. When the fat is 
all got off, they cut off the whiskers of the upper 
jaw with an ax. Before they cut, they are all 
lashed to keep them firm ; which also facilitates 
the cutting, and prevents them from falling into 
the sea: when on board, five or six of them are 



THE WHALE. 351 

bundled together, and properly stowed ; and 
after all is got off, the carcass is turned adrift, 
and devoured by the bears, who are very fond 
of it. In proportion as the large pieces of 
fat are cut off, the rest of the crew are employed 
in slicing them smaller, and picking out all the 
lean. When this is prepared, they stow it under 
the deck, where it lies till the fat of all the 
whales is on board ; then cutting it still smaller, 
they put it up in casks in the hold, cramming 
them very full and close. Nothing now remains 
but to sail homeward, where the fat is to be 
boiled and melted down into train oil. 

The flesh of this animal is a dainty to some 
nations ; and the savages of Greenland, as well 
as those near the south pole, are fond of it to 
distraction. They eat the flesh, and drink the 
oil, which is a first-rate delicacy. The finding a 
dead whale is an adventure considered among 
the fortunate circumstances of their lives. They 
make their abode beside it ; and seldom remove 
till they have left nothing but the bones. 

The narwal, or sea-unicorn, seldom exceeds 
twenty-two feet long. Its body is slenderer than 
that of the wdiale, and its fat not in so great 
abundance. But this great animal is sufficiently 
distinguished from all others of the deep, by its 
tooth or teeth, which stand pointing directly 
forward from the upper jaw, and are from nine 



352 FIRESIDE READING. 

to ten feet long. In all the variety of weapons 
with which nature has armed her various tribes, 
there is not one so large or so formidable as 
this. This terrible weapon is generally found 
single ; and some are of opinion that the an- 
imal is furnished with but one by nature; but 
there is at present the skull of a narwal at the 
Stadthouse at Amsterdam, with two teeth. The 
tooth, or, as some are pleased to call it, the horn 
of the narwal, is as straight as an arrow, about 
the thickness of the small of a man's leg, 
wreathed in the manner we sometimes see 
twisted bars of iron: it tapers to a sharp point, 
and is whiter, heavier, and harder than ivory. 
It is generally seen to spring from the left side 
of the head directly forward in a straight line 
with the body ; and its root enters into the 
socket above a foot and a half. Notwithstand- 
ing its appointments for combat, this long and 
pointed tusk, amazing strength, and matchless 
celerity, the narwal is one of the most harmless 
and peaceful inhabitants of the ocean. It is 
seen constantly and inoftensively sporting among 
the other great monsters of the deep, no way 
attempting to injure them, but pleased in their 
company. The Greenlanders call the narwal 
the forerunner of the whale ; for wherever it is 
seen, the whale is shortly after sure to follow. 
This may arise as well from the natural passion 



THE WHALE. 353 

for society in these animals, as from both living 
upon the same food, which are the insects de- 
scribed in the preceding section. These pow- 
erful fishes make war upon no other living 
creature ; and though furnished with instru- 
ments to spread general destruction, are as in- 
nocent and as peaceful as a drove of oxen. The 
narwal is much swifter than the whale, and 
would never be taken by the fishermen but for 
those very tusks, which at first appear to be its 
principal defense. These animals are always 
seen in herds of several at a time ; and when- 
ever they are attacked, they crowd together in 
such a manner, that they are mutually embar- 
rassed by their tusks. By these they are often 
locked together, and are prevented from sinking 
to the bottom. It seldom happens, therefore, 
but the fishermen make sure of one or two of 
the hindmost, which very well reward their 
trouble. 

The cachalot, or spermaceti whale, has sev- 
eral teeth in the under jaw, but none in the 
upper. As there are no less than seven distinc- 
tions among whales, so also there are the same 
number of distinctions in the tribe we are de- 
scribing. This tribe is not of such enormous 
size as the whale, properly so called, not being 
above sixty feet long and sixteen feet high. In 

consequence of their being more slender, they 
23 " d 



354 FIRESIDE READING. 

are much more active than the common whale ; 
they remain a longer time at the bottom, and 
afford a smaller quantity of oil. As in the 
common whale the head was seen to make a 
third part of its bulk, so in this species the head 
is so large as to make one-half of the whole. 
Their throats are much wider than those of the 
common whale, as may be judged from the fact 
that the remains of sharks more than twelve 
feet long have been found in their stomachs. 
The cachalot is as destructive among the lesser 
fishes as the whale is harmless ; and can at one 
gulp swallow a shoal of fishes down its enormous 
gullet. Linnseus tells us that this fish pursues 
and terrifies the dolphins and porpoises so much 
as often to drive them on shore. 

But, how formidable soever this fish may be 
to its fellows of the deep, it is by far the most 
valuable, and the most sought after by man, as 
it contains two very valuable drugs, sperma- 
ceti and ambergris : the whole oil of this fish is 
very easily convertible into spermaceti. This 
is performed by boiling it with a lye of potash, 
and hardening it in the manner of soap. Can- 
dles are now made of it, which are substituted 
for wax, and sold much cheaper. 

As to the ambergris which is sometimes found 
in this whale, it was long considered as a sub- 
stance found floating on the surface of the sea ; 



THE WHALE. 355 

but time, that reveals the secrets of the mer- 
cenary, has discovered that it chiefly belongs to 
this animal. The name, which has been im- 
properly given to the former substance, seems 
more justly to belong to this ; for the ambergris 
is found in the place where the seminal vessels 
are usually situated in other animals. It is 
found in a bag of three or four feet long, in 
round lumps, from one to twenty pounds weight, 
floating in a fluid rather thinner than oil, and 
of a yellowish color. There are never seen 
more than four at a time in one of these bags ; 
and that which weighed twenty pounds, and 
which was the largest ever seen, was found 
single. These balls of ambergris are not found 
in all fishes of this kind, but chiefly in the oldest 
and strongest. 

The blunt-head cachalot is fifty-four feet in 
length. Its greatest circumference is just be- 
yond the eyes, and is thirty feet. The upper 
jaw is five feet longer than the lower, which is 
ten feet. The head is above one-third the size 
of the fish. The end of the upper jaw is blunt, 
and near nine feet high, the spout-hole placed 
near the end of it. The teeth are placed in the 
lower jaw, twenty-three on each side, all point- 
ing outward, and in the upper jaw, opposite, 
are a number of holes to receive them when the 
mouth is closed; they are eighteen inches long. 



356 FIRESIDE READING. 

The spermaceti cachalot is found in greatest 
abundance in the Pacific Ocean, where large 
numbers of them are annually killed by the 
American and other whalers, for the sake of 
their oil and spermaceti. 

The spermaceti cachalot is gregarious, and 
herds are frequently seen containing two hun- 
dred or more individuals. 

The mode of attacking these animals is as 
follows : Whenever a number of them are seen, 
four boats, each provided with two or three lines, 
two harpoons, four lances, and a crew of six 
men, proceed in pursuit, and, if possible, each 
boat strikes or "fastens to " a distinct animal, 
and each crew kill their own. When engaged 
in distant pursuit, the harpooner generally steers 
the boat, and in such cases the proper boat- 
steer er occasionally strikes, but the harpooner 
mostly kills it. If one cachalot of a herd is 
struck, it commonly takes the lead and is fol- 
lowed by the rest. The one which is struck, 
seldom descends far under water, but generally 
swims oif with great rapidity, stopping after a 
short course, so that the boat can be drawn up 
to it by the line, or be rowed sufficiently near 
to lance it. In the agonies of death, the strug- 
gles of the animal are truly tremendous, and 
the surface of the ocean is lashed into foam 
by the motion of the fins and tail. Tall jets 



THE WHALE. 357 

of blood are discharged from the blow-holes, 
which show that the wounds have taken mortal 
effect, and seeing this, the boats are kept aloof, 
lest they should be clashed to pieces by the vio- 
lent efforts of the victim. 

When a herd is attacked in this way, ten or 
twelve of the number are killed ; those which 
are only wounded are rarely captured. After 
the cachalot is killed, the boats tow it to the 
side of the ship, and if the weather be fine, and 
other objects of chase in view, they are again 
sent to the attack. 

About three tuns of oil are commonly ob- 
tained from a large cachalot; from one to two 
tuns are procured from a small one. A cargo, 
produced from one hundred cachalots, may be 
from 150 to 200 tuns of oil, besides the sperma- 
ceti, etc. 

The small-eyed, or black-headed spermaceti 
whale, is one of the most formidable monsters 
of the deep. It has an enormous dark-colored 
head, armed with twenty-one projecting teeth 
on each side of the jaw. In a full-grown speci- 
men these teeth are nine inches in length. This 
whale is often more than fifty feet in length. 
and is uncommonly active. Sharks, dolphins, 
and porpoises fall an easy prey to it. 



XIII. 



THE sword-fish inhabits the Mediterranean 
Sea and the eastern parts of the Atlantic 
Ocean. It has also been found in other seas, 
and on the coasts of our own country. The 
pursuit of them is a miniature representation 
of that of the whale, and the fishermen follow 
them for hours before they can effect their cap- 
ture. The Sicilian fishermen are said to have a 
curious superstition concerning them, which is, 
that if they sing a certain Greek phrase, it at- 
tracts them toward their boat; whereas, if they 
pronounce a single word of Italian, they plunge 
into deep water, and are not seen again. The 
flesh of the young is excellent eating, but an old 
fish resembles bad, coarse beef. The prolonga- 
tion of the muzzle into the long, bony process 
to which it owes its name, of necessity makes it 
a formidable enemy, but it constantly accom- 
panies the tunny, and apparently on friendly 
terms. 

It grows to a very large size, upward of 
358 



THE SWORD-FISH. 359 

twenty feet in length. It is of a long and 
rounded body, the largest near the head, and 
tapering by degrees to the tail. The skin is 
rough, the back black, and the belly white. It 
has one fin on the back, running almost its 
whole length. It has one pair of fins also at 
the gills. But the most remarkable part of 
this fish is the snout, which, in the upper jaw, 
runs out in the figure of a sword, sometimes to 
the length of three feet, and is of a substance 
like a coarse kind of ivory. The under jaw is 
much shorter. 

The sword-fish has wonderful strength. The 
Leopard man-of-war was struck by one of them ; 
and though the animal was following the ship, 
and consequently gave the blow with less force 
than it otherwise would have done, yet the 
sword penetrated nearly a quarter of a yard 
through the sheathing and timber, and was 
broke off by the shock. Eight or nine strokes 
from a hammer weighing a quarter of a hun- 
dred weight would be required to drive an iron 
pin the same depth into wood. In the British 
Museum there is a plank of a ship through 
which a fish impelled the whole length of his 
sword ; not, however, without losing his life by 
the effort. 

The sword-fish has an antipathy to the whale, 
and no sooner meets than he assails him. Two 



360 FIRESIDE READING. 

will sometimes combine in the attack. The 
whale can defend himself only with his tail, 
which the activity of his adversary generally 
enables him to evade. The whale dives in vain, 
for he is pursued by his pertinacious tormentor, 
and he is at length compelled to take flight. 



XIV. 

SEVERAL fishes possess a large portion of 
electricity, which they are able to exercise for 
their own benefit; either for offense or defense. 
The chief of these are the torpedo, a marine 
fish of the ray kind, and the gymnotus, which 
is a species of eel. The first are large, and of 
rounded form, with a long tail, on which the fins 
are placed. Their electrical apparatus is formed 
of small membranous tubes, looking like a piece 
of honeycomb, subdivided by horizontal mem- 
branes into little cells, full of mucus, and com- 
municating with certain nerves. They can give 
a shock at will, and it is supposed that they use 
their power, not only as a means of defense, 
but that they stun their prey with it. Mr. 
Couch suggests, that they thus render their vic- 
tims more apt to decompose, and so accommo- 
date them to their very short intestine, which 
could scarcely perform a long process of diges- 
tion. Those parts connected with the brain and 

heart alone give the shock. The fish was ree- 

861 



362 FIRESIDE READING. 

ommended by ancient physicians as being good 
for headaches. It has been found on the British 
coasts, but generally lives near the shores of 
large oceans. 

The gymnotus was found in South America, 
by Baron Humboldt, and its electric organs lie 
along the back, in two sets ; the little cells of 
the apparatus are filled with a jelly-like sub- 
stance, and communicate with many nerves. 
When the natives wish to catch wild horses, 
they drive them into the streams frequented by 
these eels, where they are frightened and easily 
secured, though occasionally they die, either 
from the violence of the shocks, or their own 
alarm. One of these eels was brought alive to 
the Jardin des Plantes, in Paris, where it was 
constantly visited, and so often excited to give 
shocks, that the poor fish's health visibly de- 
teriorated. More caution was then observed; 
but during the time of its existence, a paragraph 
appeared in the English papers, saying, that 
several learned professors had been injured by it; 
and, in fact, one of great eminence had died in 
consequence. Seven gentlemen had received a 
shock at one time, and all had been incon- 
venienced for some hours ; but there was no 
other foundation for the story. 

One evening, after the eel bad exercised its 
power very frequently, and appeared to be ex- 



ELECTRICAL FISHES. 363 

hausted, the keeper in whose charge it was, 
wished to move it, tub and all, up a short flight 
of stairs. He could not carry it without help, 
and called an assistant to take the opposite side 
of the burden. The man hesitated ; but when 
assured that nothing was to be feared while the 
fish was in that state, he complied. Whether it 
was alarm, or resentment at being moved, was 
not, of course, known, but just as the men 
reached the last stair but one, the eel seemed to 
concentrate all its powers, and gave a furious 
shock. This so frightened the assistant, that he 
let go his hold, and fell to the bottom, followed 
by the tub and its contents. It required some 
courage to replace the eel in its dwelling, and 
the man was laughed at, but few would have 
shown more nerve ; in fact, the arms which held 
the tub were paralyzed by the shock. 



XY. 

Using $is% 

THE power of flight, for a short distance, has 
been granted to several fishes, such as gur- 
nards, or sea-swallows, but the one which is most 
endowed in this respect, is the little exocoetus, 
the flying fish, as it is always called. " Con- 
trary," says Mrs. Lee, "to the usual opinion, 
that their flight is merely a leap out of the 
water, to escape a dolphin, bonita, or some other 
enemy, I am of opinion that they often rush 
out of the water for the sake of enjoyment, 
and that they contract their pectoral fins — with 
which they fly — and expanding them again, ac- 
quire fresh impetus. When I used to see so 
many, I watched them, and formed this con- 
clusion ; but when I returned to Europe, was 
told that I was wrong, and held my tongue. I 
now, however, supported by Baron Humboldt, 
M. Valenciennes, and others, again express my 
conviction. They always appear when a fresh 

breeze agitates the water, as if their first 
364 



FLYING FISH. 365 

impulse must come from the dancing waves; 
they announce themselves with a prolonged 
sound of oush-sh-shy and their blue and glit- 
tering bodies, and their numbers, make them 
most welcome in a monotonous sea voyage. 
They sometimes fall on deck, and afford fresh 
and grateful food ; though there is not much 
flesh upon them. Lanterns are hung up at night 
to attract them. As they follow the Gulf 
Stream, they are sometimes found as far north 
as Newfoundland, but they inhabit most seas, 
and present several species." 

In other habits, besides flying, we find fishes 
approaching those of birds. The doras is a 
sensible fish in many respects, for when the 
ponds dry up where he lives, instead of burying 
himself in the mud as others do, and being 
eventually devoured by birds of prey, he takes 
to his heels, and runs all night sometimes to 
find other and more plentifully-supplied habita- 
tions. 

How these fishes imitate birds is, by making 
a regular nest, in which the eggs are deposited, 
looking like a little, flat cushion, and they then 
cover them up. The nest is formed of leaves, 
and sometimes a place is hollowed out of the 
beach to receive it. Both father and mother 
watch this nest with the most devoted attention, 
and defend it with courage. The doras is 



366 FIRESIDE READING. 

called, in its own country, "alligator killer " be- 
cause when these great reptiles swallow them, 
their spines lacerate their throats so severely 
that they frequently die from the injury. 

There are some other fishes which make 
nests and watch over their eggs, such as the 
gobies, and several others, which walk on land, 
climb rocks, and even trees. The anabas is one 
of them, and Lieut. Daldorf, a Danish officer, 
on service at Tranquebar, took one from a palm- 
tree, five feet above the water, and climbing the 
trunk very fast, by means of its tail and spiny 
fins. They have an apparatus in their heads 
resembling a curled cabbage-leaf, which it is 
supposed retains water for a long time, and they 
are met occasionally walking along at such dis- 
tances from water, that the natives think they 
have fallen from heaven. 



XVI. 

AMONG those fishes which practice curious 
artifices in order to procure their prey, there 
are none more striking than the fishing frogs, 
or anglers. They, too, have their pectoral fins 
set upon a stalk, and their head is flattened, and 
out of proportion large. They have a wide 
mouth; the opening to their gills is like that 
of the chironectes; and their eyes are placed 
near together. They have altogether so hideous 
an appearance, that it is not extraordinary many 
tales should have been invented concerning them. 
Of the most remarkable part of their outward 
appearance Mr. Yarrell's remarks, "Upon the 
head are two slender, elongated appendages, 
the first of them broad, and flattened toward 
the end, and having, at their dilated part, a 
shining, silvery appearance. These elongated 
filaments arc curiously articulated at (lie base, 
with the upper surface of the head. They have 
great freedom of motion in any direction, the 
first filament more especiallv, being produced 

867 



368 FIRESIDE READING. 

by numerous muscles, amounting to twenty-two. 
This first is also articulated by a process resem- 
bling two links of a chain, by which universal 
motion is obtained ; the second is more limited 
in its action, and appears, except as far as flex- 
ibility may assist it, to be only capable of being 
brought forward or backward. These elongated 
shafts are formed of bone, covered by the com- 
mon skin ; and as the soft parts are abundantly 
supplied with nerves, they may also serve the 
angler as delicate organs of touch. While 
couching close to the ground, the fish, by the 
action of its ventral and pectoral fins, stirs up 
the sand or mud : hidden by the obscurity thus 
produced, it elevates these appendages, moves 
them in various directions by way of attraction 
as a bait; and the small fishes, approaching 
either to examine or to seize them, immediately 
become the prey of the fishes." 

Mr. Couch speaks of an angler which seized 
a conger-eel that had taken the hook ; but after 
the latter had been ingulfed in the enormous 
jaws, and perhaps stomach, it struggled through 
the gill-aperture of the angler, and in that situ- 
ation both were drawn up together. "When 
taken in a net," Colonel Montague tells us, 
" they generally devour some of their fellow- 
prisoners. They are frequently from three to 
four feet long, and have been known to reach 



CURIOSITIES ABOUT FISH. 369 

even ten feet. They are found in the Mediter- 
ranean, and various other seas. Some fisher- 
men suppose that they overcome sharks, and, 
therefore, when they take them, set them at 
liberty on that account." 

The chelmons, with their long, slender muz- 
zle, their vertical profile, and cavity in front 
of their eyes, and the archers or toxotes, with 
their flat heads, both feed on insects; and in 
order to secure them, skillfully shoot forth drops 
of water, which bring them down, even though 
they may be three feet or more from them, and 
never fail in their aim. The Javanese keep 
them in their houses, and supply them with in- 
sects attached to threads, and sticks, that they 
may divert themselves with their maneuvers. 
They inhabit the Indian and Chinese seas. 

The hideous fishes which now come before us, 
belonging to different families and genera, and 
each more ugly than the other, can scarcely be 
described by words, and nothing but the pencil 
of a clever artist, with the living fish before 
him, could give an adequate idea of their 
strange appearance. The uranoscope is per- 
haps the least so. It has a large, square head, 
flattened above, at the end of which the mouth 
is vertically placed ; and the eyes are set in the 
middle of the upper side, in such a position 

they can only look upward. On their shoulder 
24 p 



3T0 FIRESIDE READING. 

is a spine, which serves as a weapon; and a 
long, narrow, fleshy shred is placed before the 
tongue, and thrust forth at pleasure, in order to 
attract insects as its owner lies in the mud or 
sand. One species lives in the Mediterranean, 
and was recommended to sick persons by Hip- 
pocrates. The Indian species, to add to its sin- 
gularity, has a long, thin filament hanging from 
its chin. 

The next increase of ugliness is to be found 
in the batrachus, with a head similar to that 
of the uranoscope. Their large mouth is sur- 
rounded by shreds of skin, the pectoral fins are 
set upon stems, and these fishes inhabit the two 
great oceans. One species is called the toad- 
fish in this country; and the liver of that at 
Surinam is said to be a deadly poison. 

The scorp^nse have a thick, spiny head, and 
a soft, spongy skin ; fleshy shreds often proceed 
from various parts of them ; the colors of some 
are brilliant, and they live a long time out of 
the water. The form and number of the shreds 
vary to infinity, both in position and size ; and 
nothing can be more fantastic than those from 
the Indian seas. 

Still more frightful are the synauceise. The 
head is as wide as it is long, the body is like 
a great, thick club; the back is covered with 
warts, each terminated by a little knob; the 



CURIOSITIES ABOUT FISH. 371 

eyes are very small; the lips are furnished with 
little threads or filaments ; and the Malays call 
one of their species the sorcerer. That of the 
Isle of France is looked upon rather as a reptile 
than a fish, and the fishermen fear the wounds 
made by their spines, more than they do those 
of vipers and scorpions. Not that they are re- 
ally poisonous, but they penetrate so deeply, 
and are so thickly covered with mucus, that the 
lacerated flesh becomes highly irritated. 

The pelor forms the climax of this ugly 
group; and nothing but the idea of deformity 
can be awakened by them. Their head seems 
to be crushed in front, their eyes project, and 
are set close together, their dorsal fin has long, 
separate spines, and their body has no scales. 
They all come from the Indian Ocean ; and it 
would seem as if nature had intended that their 
hideous appearance should frighten all enemies, 
or paralyze those on whom they wish to prey. 

" On the shark which I caught," says Mrs. 
Lee, " were a number of sucking-fishes ; having 
a curious apparatus by which they attach them- 
selves to objects in a manner difficult to be dis- 
lodged. It consists of a number of cartilag- 
inous plates, fringed with spines at one edge, 
and movable ; so that they can fix them closely 
on to what they please, but for what reason 
is not ascertained. Some say for protection, 



372 FIRESIDE READING. 

others for conveyance. It appears to be most 
likely to be the former, because they adhere to 
fixed objects just as strongly as to those which 
are in motion. Other suckers have this disk 
under the body, and so constantly adhere to 
other substances, that it is supposed they could 
not live without doing so. One, called the sea- 
owl, is an extraordinary-looking animal, with a 
body out of proportion thick and deep, to its 
length. It has been known, when taken up by 
the tail, to a raise a pail holding some gallons 
of water ; it is brilliantly colored, is a northern 
fish, and often brought to table in Scotland." 

Another, called the sea-snail, from the slimy 
matter which always covers its body, is from the 
same locality, and is found under stones. It 
is only the first-mentioned sucker which turns 
itself upside down when it adheres; a strange 
mode of existence, for it passes its reversed life 
attached to other fishes. It is in some countries 
made to catch what may be required by being 
thrown upon them, when, by means of strings, 
both are drawn back together. 

Of all the strange localities for fishes, we 
should least expect to find them in volcanoes ; 
but there are five of the "burning mountains" 
of the Andes which have sent them forth alive 
from their craters, or from cracks, more than 
five thousand yards above the level of the sea. 



CURIOSITIES ABOUT FISH. 373 

Cotopaxi ejected such a number, that a fetid 
odor was spread through the neighborhood. 
Imbaburu threw many thousands into the en- 
virons of the town of Ibarra in 1691, and sev- 
eral times since that period. The pestilential 
fevers which scourged these countries after the 
eruptions, were entirely attributed to the mi- 
asma produced by the dead fishes, and when 
the summit of Cargueirazo fell in, thousands 
of fishes were vomited from the sides in the 
midst of smoking mud. "What currents of 
water, what subterranean lakes exist in the 
caverns of these mountains? How can the 
water, at so high a temperature, contain suffi- 
cient air for the fishes to live in it ? How is it 
that animals of such a nature are not cooked, 
as they pass through those columns of smoke 
which encircle the masses of mud thrown out 
during the eruption?" are questions asked by 
M. de Humboldt, but which not even he has 
been able to answer, or made much of an eifort 
so to do. 

They either belong to, or will take an indepen- 
dent place close to, the family of the siluroids, 
and live in the elevated lakes and streams of the 
neighborhood. They were made known to 09 
by the great traveler just mentioned, by M. 
Boussingault, and lastly by Mr. Pentland. The 
astroblepus, one of the genera, has a wide, ilat- 



374 FIRESIDE READING. 

tened, obtuse head, large lips, fixed tongue, 
double nostrils, very small eyes on the upper 
surface of the head, set very far back, and al- 
ways looking upward; the body without scales, 
and covered with mucus. All have singular 
forms, and are esteemed as food by the inhab- 
itants of the neighborhood. 

One order of fishes, instead of having gills in 
a series, like the teeth of a comb, has them 
gathered into small, round tufts, set in pairs 
along the bony arches which support them, and 
the very large gill-cover is fastened down by a 
membrane, which only leaves a small hole for 
the egress of the water. The body of the fishes 
is enveloped in large, scale-like shields; they 
are generally small in size, and from having so 
little flesh, dry easily. Those called pipe-fish 
have the muzzle prolonged into a tube, and 
long, slender bodies. They abound in most 
seas, and are remarkable for their attachment 
to their young, for which they are provided with 
a pouch, as a place of retreat in cases of dan- 
ger. One species is so slender and pliant, that 
it has received the name of the snake pipe-fish. 

Belonging to the same family is the hippo- 
campus, which dries into a shape very much re- 
sembling that of a horse without legs, hence 
they are called sea-horses; they abound in dif- 
ferent seas, and there are some in New Holland 



CURIOSITIES ABOUT FISH. 375 

of still more extraordinary appearance ; for they 
have a number of leaf-like appendages on dif- 
ferent parts of the body. They lay hold of 
objects with their tail, and they move their 
eyes independently of each other. Some are 
so small as to be found curled up in oyster- 
shells. 

Among the numerous modes of defense pro- 
vided for fishes, is the power given to some of 
them to puff themselves out with air, like little 
balloons; at which time, the under part being 
the lightest, they turn upward, and float pas- 
sively on the top of the water; they are not, 
however, to be surprised in this condition, for 
they are covered with spines, which, by the 
stretching of the skin, stand up at right angles, 
and the whole fish presents a prickly surface. 
Sounds come from their stomachs when they 
are taken. Their jaws are provided with an 
ivory substance instead of teeth, or rather their 
teeth are all joined together. The tetraodons 
have two of these joined teeth above, and two 
below, and are not always covered with spines ; 
they arc, however, sometimes beautifully colored, 
and one at St. Jago, one of the Cape de Verde 
Islands, was of a brilliant rose color, marbled 
with black. 

The sun-fish, so named from its circular form 
and shining appearance, looks as if its body 



376 FIRESIDE READING. 

had been suddenly cut off, and a short petticoat 
put on to hide its deformity. They are dull, 
stupid fishes, and like to float on the surface of 
the water. They boil to a jelly, and make ex- 
cellent glue. All these are found in various 
parts of the ocean. 

The file-fishes are covered with hard scales, 
which join each other at the edges, and they 
have five spines on the back for a first dorsal 
fin, which lie down in a grove provided for the 
purpose. A great many are found in the seas 
of the torrid zone, near rocks which are even 
with the water's edge ; and they shine with the 
most brilliant colors. They are said to feed on 
the coral insects. 

Instead of scales, the coffers, or ostracions, 
have regular pieces of bone, fastened together 
at the edges, so as to form an inflexible covering 
for the head and body ; leaving only the tail, 
the fins, and the lips movable. 

Perhaps the most beautiful of all fishes in re- 
spect of color, is the coryphene, or dolphin of 
the ancients. It is a large fish, very rapid in 
its movements, during which its glancing tints 
are the most splendid that can be conceived, 
and among all the bright flowers and birds there 
is said to be nothing equal to them. " One was 
caught," says Mrs. Lee, "on board the vessel 
in which I went from Lisbon to Madeira; the 



CURIOSITIES ABOUT FISH. 377 

changes which it underwent in dying overcame 
humanity ; and it was suffered to expire, instead 
of killing it and shortening its sufferings. The 
gold, the violet, the ultra-marine blue, the crim- 
son, and the orange, all prevailed in their turns ; 
and the luxurious Romans were almost excused, 
in my opinion, for their frequent indulgence in 
this spectacle." 

Ancient authors show us, that more was 
known in their time than in the present, con- 
cerning the habits of fishes; and doubtless 
many a legend and assertion had its foundation 
on some truth now lost to us. In many in- 
stances the legend has been preserved, and 
strikes us as absurd or extraordinary ; neverthe- 
less, it is well to hold it in remembrance, if it 
be only to mark the amount of embellishment 
bestowed in a more poetic age, as well as to 
establish how much of reality it may contain. 
We, therefore, now take some of these at ran- 
dom. 

A species of serranus, named anthias by the 
fishermen of the Chclidonian Islands, was taught 
by them to eat from their hands; for which 
purpose they for several days presented them- 
selves in their boats, dressed in the same man- 
ner, and offered them bread. After a while, 
the fisbes would take this bread from them. A 
hook was then introduced, and (he fish was 



378 FIRESIDE READING. 

taken, but not secured; as its companions in- 
stantly came, and, -with the saw-like spines on 
their back, cut the cord which was attached to 
it. They described it as having a body as beau- 
tiful as a flower, and that in its enormous stom- 
ach lay a blue stone, marked with golden stars, 
which, bathed in the blood of owls, had the 
property of making the possessor invisible. 

There is a sciaena, in which the bones of the 
ear, vulgarly called the stones, are unusually 
large ; and, of course, they were objects of cu- 
riosity to those who knew not what they were. 
They were called the stones of the head, and 
imaginary virtues were attributed to them. 
Under the name of colic-stones, they were worn 
round the neck, set in gold, to prevent or cure 
this disorder ; but to be efficacious, they must 
have been received as a gift, for they lost their 
virtue if purchased. 

The sargus of the Mediterranean and coasts 
of Spain and Portugal, was said to attach sev- 
eral wives to him, and to defend them against 
all intruders, in the most furious manner. The 
most curious part of their history was their 
friendship for goats ; directly one appeared on 
the shore, these fishes rapidly swam toward it, 
evincing their joy by vigorous leaps. A fisher- 
man covered with a goat-skin, and wearing its 
horns, who threw into the water a little flour 



CURIOSITIES ABOUT FISH. 379 

steeped in goat's broth, attracted and secured 
as many as he could desire to have, taking them 
with the hand, but being careful to lay their 
spines down close against their body, for fear of 
wounding himself. Now they are caught with a 
pickled anchovy put on a hook. They were 
said to live in submarine caverns, into which the 
sun only penetrated by small openings. They 
were very ingenious, according to ancient au- 
thors, in trying to break the line which held 
them. They closely followed the red mullet, 
swallowing the alimentary particles stirred up in 
the mud by that fish. 
/ "The Indian seas," says Pliny, " produce 
whales which cover four acres; and saw-fish of 
two hundred cubits; while eels of thirty feet are 
found in the Ganges. It is chiefly at the time of 
the solstices that these monstrous beings appear. 
Then the winds, the storms, the tempests, rush- 
ing down the mountains, agitate the waters to 
their deepest parts, and roll these enormous 
animals upon the waves, having raised them 
from the deepest abysses. The tunnies were 
sometimes found there in such numbers, that the 
licet of Alexander the Great was ranged in 
order of battle against them, as against an 
enemy's army. Separately the vessels could 
not open a passage among them ; noises, cries, 
and blows were unavailing; the most fearful 



380 FIRESIDE READING. 

disturbance did not alarm them, and in order 
to disperse them it was necessary to overwhelm 
them. 

" In the Red Sea," continues the same author, 
" is a large peninsula, named Cadara. By its 
projection into ihe sea, it forms a vast gulf, 
which King Ptolemy took twelve days and 
nights to traverse with oars, for no wind is felt 
there. In this calm and tranquil spot, fishes 
grew to such a size, that they became an inert 
mass. Those who commanded the fleet of Alex- 
ander, stated that the gedrosos, who inhabit the 
borders of the river Arabis, made doors for 
their houses with fishes' jaws, and girders with 
their bones, which were forty cubits long. 
Whole flocks of marine animals came on land 
to feed on the roots of shrubs, and then re- 
turned to the sea ; and some with horses', asses', 
and bulls' heads, grazed upon the young crops 
of grain." The contrast this forms to the pres- 
ent knowledge and condition of the Red Sea 
will, we think, be amusing to the Indian trav- 
eler. 

Auguries were formerly drawn from fishes ; 
and these animals were supposed to have a 
knowledge of the future. During the war with 
Sicily, Augustus was walking on the shore, 
when a fish threw itself out of the water, and 
fell at his feet. It was at the time that Sextus 



CURIOSITIES ABOUT FISH. 881 

Pompeius, proud of his naval victories, declared 
himself to be the son of Neptune. When the 
soothsayers were consulted as to the meaning of 
this occurrence, they replied, that those who 
then held the empire of the sea, would be under 
the feet of Caesar. 

The scarus had the reputation of ruminating, 
and, in fact, when masticating sea-weed, it does 
move its jaws, in the manner of cows, etc. ; but 
then it was said to eat grass, and never devour 
other fishes. It was reckoned the most delicate 
dish that could come to table. Its intestines 
cooked with the fish, were said to create appetite 
in the manner of oysters. 

Eels were supposed to live eight years, and 
to exist eight days out of water, if the wind 
blew from the north ; but not for so long a time 
if it came from the south. They were not 
thought to be able to live through a winter, if 
they were not placed in clear and abundant 
water. They were, therefore, mostly taken 
when the Pleiades rose, and the waters of rivers 
were troubled. They were stated to feed during 
the night, and to be the only fish which did not 
float after death. 

Every year, in October, when the lake Beo- 
naco, near Verona, felt the influence of the 
autumnal constellation, the eels collected to- 
gether, near the place where the river Minoio 



382 FIRESIDE READING. 

leaves that lake, and masses of a thousand 
rolled over each other, were found in the in- 
closures formed in the river for the purpose of 
containing them. 

As one of our chief objects in writing on 
natural history is, the setting forth of God's 
great goodness and power, we will conclude the 
present work with an observation on that spe- 
cies of scarus, which is called the parrot-fish, 
in consequence of its varied and beautiful colors ; 
and which appears to us, with quiet and com- 
paratively small workings, to influence the des- 
tiny of man. These fishes make no display of 
their labors, but silently and effectually prevent 
the baneful extension of those dangerous coral 
reefs, to whose progress there seems to be no 
other check. They are incessantly breaking up 
the new layers with their jaws and teeth, of 
immense strength ; in fact, browsing upon coral, 
"digesting," says Dr. Carpenter, u the animal 
matter it contains, and setting free the car- 
bonate of lime in a chalky state." Such are 
the simple, yet effectual means, used by Al- 
mighty wisdom, and such are a few of the claims 
which fishes lay to our interest. 



^SS I 



